HOME DEPARTMENT

Deportation

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported under immigration law to (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq, (c) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (d) Somalia in each month since April 2011; and how many people are awaiting voluntary or enforced removal to each such country.

Damian Green: Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Most illegal immigrants are removed under administrative or illegal entry powers from the UK rather than being deported.
	It has therefore been assumed that the question refers to the number of enforced removals and voluntary departures from the UK as opposed to the number of deportations.
	The following table shows the total number of removals and voluntary departures from the UK to Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Somalia in each month from April 2011 to March 2012.
	
		
			 Monthly total removals and voluntary departures(1,2) to Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Somalia(3) April 2011 to March 2012(4) 
			 Number of departures 
			 Year/Month Afghanistan Democratic Republic of the Congo Iraq Somalia 
			 April 2011 88 3 16 5 
			 May 2011 116 1 11 5 
			 June 2011 96 3 40 0 
			 July 2011 126 4 16 2 
			 August 2011 112 1 32 1 
			 September 2011 80 0 34 0 
			 October 2011 112 2 36 0 
			 November 2011 144 2 23 1 
			 December 2011 88 1 17 0 
			 January 2012 108 2 26 1 
			 February 2012 107 2 42 5 
			 March 2012 21 1 39 1 
			 Total (2011-12) 1,198 22 332 21 
			 (1) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (2) Includes enforced removals, persons departing voluntarily after notifying the UK Border Agency of their intention to leave prior to their departure, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by Refugee Action from April 2011 (previously run by the International Organisation for Migration) and persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (3) Destination as recorded on source database. (4) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. 
		
	
	Data for April 2012 onwards are not yet available, but quarterly data for April to June 2012 will be published as part of the regular Home Office publication scheme on 30th August.
	The data requested on those awaiting removal are not available from published statistics.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures by country of destination are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics:
	January to March 2012, tables rv.06 and rv.06.q, from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

European Scrutiny Committee

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the decisions (a) SCH/Com-ex (98) 26 def, (b) SCH/Com-ex (98) 52, (c) SCH/Com-ex (99) 6, (d) SCH/Com-ex (99) 7 rev. 2 and (e) SCH/Com-ex (99) 8 rev.2 were included in Annex A of her letter of 21 December 2011 to the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee; and how they relate to the UK.

James Brokenshire: The measures cited were included in Annex A of my letter of 21 December 2011 to the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee as they are:
	“acts of the Union in the field of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters which have been adopted before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty”
	(Article 10(1) of Protocol 10 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). This means that all “acts” with a legal base in the former Title VI (police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters) of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) are caught by this transitional provision.
	In order to incorporate the Schengen acquis into EU law, the Council was required in 1999 to allocate a legal base in the Treaties for each provision which formed part of the acquis. A large number of the legal bases allocated were in Title VI TEU. This was the case for each measure cited.
	In 2000, the UK joined elements of the Schengen acquis that relate to police and judicial co-operation (Council Decision 2000/365/EC) and has subsequently participated in measures that were deemed to build upon the parts of the acquis in which the UK participates. These Schengen measures in the field of police and judicial co-operation are therefore caught by the wording of the Transitional Protocol and properly included in the list of measures subject to the decision on whether to accept the application of full European Court of Justice jurisdiction in 2014.

Ex Gratia Payments

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate her Department has made of the monetary value of ex gratia payments made through schemes administered by her Department in the last two years.

Damian Green: There are no ex gratia payments made through schemes administered by the Home Office.

Internet: Bullying

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to monitor or regulate cyber bullying; and if she will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	According to Ofcom's annual Children's Media Literacy Tracker, 7% of 12-15 year olds reported being cyberbullied in 2011.
	I have been working with industry, charities, academia and parenting groups, through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, which I chair, to develop consistent advice and information about internet safety, including cyberbullying, which those providing internet services can use. The Government is also pressing industry at European level to implement clear and simple processes for monitoring and responding to reports of harmful content including that which constitutes cyberbullying.
	The Government published updated advice to schools on behaviour and bullying in July 2011. The advice includes clarification on how schools can use their existing powers to respond to poor behaviour including bullying that occurs anywhere off the school premises when it is reported to them.
	Schools are held to account on how well they deal with bullying through the new Ofsted inspections framework, which places a sharper focus on behaviour and bullying within the core Behaviour and Safety judgment.

Offences Against Children: Internet

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information has had with stakeholders to discuss protecting children online.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government believes that there is a need to work with a wide range of stakeholders to help protect children online. Through the work of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), the Government has engaged closely with the internet industry, children's charities and other groups to ensure that all sectors play a part in the protection of children, and that work to better protect children is co-ordinated.

Police: Suicide

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers committed suicide in each of the last 3 years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many police officers committed suicide in each of the last 3 years. (116554)
	Table 1 as follows shows the number of police officer suicides in England and Wales, for the years 2009 to 2011 (the latest year available).
	Figures for suicides in the United Kingdom, England and Wales, and regions in England are published annually and are available at the following link:
	http://ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-29400
	An article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2008 presented an analysis of patterns of suicide by occupation in England and Wales from 2001 to 2005, using ONS data. This article is available at the following link:
	http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/193/1/73
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of police officer suicides 2009 to 2011, England and Wales(1, 2, 3, 4)(, )(5) 
			  Number of suicides (persons) 
			 2009 15 
			 2010 23 
			 2011 17 
			 (1) Figures relate to persons classed as police officers (inspectors and above together with sergeant and below) at death registration. These correspond to codes 1172 and 3312 in the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 and 2010. (2 )Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34. (3) Figures are for persons aged between 20-74 years. (4) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (5 )Figures include deaths of non-residents.

Schengen Agreement: ICT

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to EU Council Decision 2009/724/JHA, whether the second generation Schengen Information System is now in operation.

James Brokenshire: The second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) is not yet in operation. The European Commission plan to have the central SIS II system ready for operation by the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Schengen Agreement: ICT

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution the UK will pay to cover its share of the operating costs of the Schengen Information System in 2012.

James Brokenshire: The UK has currently budgeted to contribute £2.2 million towards the operating costs of the Schengen Information System in 2012.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of her Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Damian Green: As at 30 June 2012, 42 members of staff were on the redeployment register operated by the Home Office and its agencies. Of these, 33 members of staff had been on the register for more than six months.

UK Border Agency: Absenteeism

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of staff absence was for the UK Border Agency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: holding answer 6 July 2012
	The average number of working days lost per staff year for the rolling year 1 June 2011 to the 31 May 2012 for the UK Border Agency is 8.49 days.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality Act 2006

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the timetable is for the proposed repeal of sections of the Equality Act 2006.

Lynne Featherstone: The proposed repeal of sections of the Equality Act 2006 is included as measures in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which is currently in Committee stage in the House of Commons. Subject to parliamentary business, we expect the Bill to achieve Royal Assent during this session.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Attorney-General whether he expects the Law Officers' Departments to underspend their budgets for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Dominic Grieve: The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their economic and fiscal outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and out-turn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish out-turn data for all Departments from the COINS database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 out-turn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Work Experience

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Attorney-General how many interns work in the Law Officers' Departments' press offices.

Dominic Grieve: None.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Internet

Keith Vaz: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much was spent by the House of Commons Service on consultants for web services in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

John Thurso: The House of Commons Service spent £113,738 in 2010-11 and £105,407 in 2011-12 on consultants for web services. This covered the following activities:
	Online usability and accessibility testing and advice
	User research including running surveys
	Evaluation tools to assess the impact of Parliament's online channels
	Consultancy support as part of a procurement of web hosting services to reduce costs.
	The Parliament website had more than 11 million visitors in 2011-12 and was rated by 80% as satisfactory or very satisfactory.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Ex Gratia Payments

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate his Department has made of the monetary value of ex gratia payments made through schemes administered by his Department in the last two years.

Owen Paterson: My Department has made no such payments in the last two years.

Leaseback Arrangements

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assets his Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Owen Paterson: My Department has not sold or leased back any assets over the last 12 months.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies has made in implementing the Manchester Declaration of 2005.

Owen Paterson: The Manchester Declaration of 2005 has been superseded by the Malmo Declaration and eGovernment Action Plan (2011-15) and the broader Digital Agenda for Europe. The UK contribution to the eGovernment Action Plan continues to be led by the Cabinet Office.
	My Department has two non-departmental public bodies: the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. Both public bodies are independent of Government and the hon. Gentleman may wish to write to the commissions directly on these matters.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Owen Paterson: The OBR forecast underspends in Departmental Expenditure Limits as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the COINS database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff of his Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Owen Paterson: My Department does not have any staff in the civil service redeployment pool.

WALES

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the lowest hourly rate paid to staff by her Department is; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

David Jones: The Wales Office does not directly employ staff. All staff in the Wales Office are employed by the Ministry of Justice, or are on loan from other Government bodies or the Welsh Government.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether she expects her Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate she has made of any such underspend.

David Jones: The OBR forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the transparency agenda the Government publish the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the COINS database, available on the Treasury website, on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Assets

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assets his Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Gregory Barker: No assets have been sold and leased back by the Department over the last 12 months.

Biofuels

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has received any advice on differentiating subsidy support for biomass feedstocks sourced domestically and internationally; and when further information on this will be published.

Gregory Barker: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 15 May 2012, Official Report, column 110W, to my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Dan Byles).

Climate Change Levy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next plans to meet with representatives of the UK Fashion and Textile Association to discuss the Climate Change Levy.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 11 July 2012
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for tax policy including the climate change levy. As such, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), and I have no plans to meet the UK Fashion and Textile Association to discuss the levy.

Electricity

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has undertaken on the potential effects of his proposals for electricity market reform on the level of vertical integration of the energy wholesale and retail markets.

Charles Hendry: The large vertically integrated energy companies will have a critical role in delivering the UK's security of supply and decarbonisation objectives. Vertical integration can reduce the costs of capital and help to keep down costs to consumers. However, these large companies cannot alone deliver investment at the scale and pace that we need—one of the key aims of EMR is, therefore, to encourage new entrants and new sources of finance. Wider participation and more diversity are key to a competitive market and securing the investment we need. The Government will act where necessary to tackle any structural barriers to market entry that are not addressed through the actions taken by Ofgem.

Electricity Generation

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the cost of electricity infrastructure required by 2050.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 6 July 2012
	In the Carbon Plan(1), the Department explored four scenarios which are consistent with its target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The Department's 2050 Calculator(2) estimates the total capital, operating and fuel costs of the energy system (everything from power stations and industrial processes; to cars, planes and trains and the fuel they use; to gas boilers and cavity wall insulation) of these pathways. Based on the four Carbon Plan pathways, the annual total cost of the energy system is £330 billion to £370 billion(3). Of this, annual total electricity infrastructure capital and operating costs are estimated to vary between £17.9 billion and £29.7 billion. This includes the following technologies: Conventional thermal plant, Combustion + CCS, Nuclear power, Onshore wind, Offshore wind, Hydroelectric, Wave and Tidal, Geothermal, Distributed solar PV, Networks, Storage, demand shifting and backup. Note that these infrastructure costs exclude the cost of fossil fuels used in electricity generation.
	(1) As published in December 2011. See:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx
	(2)Note:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/2050/2050.aspx
	Results taken from version published in July 2012.
	(3) Average annual cost over the period 2010-50.
	If climate change is not tackled, the annual total energy system cost is estimated at £333 billion(4). Of this, the annual total capital and operating cost of the electricity infrastructure is estimated at £12.8 billion. This excludes the cost of fossil fuels used in electricity generation. It also excludes environmental damage costs associated with climate change.
	(4) Average annual cost over the period 2010-50.
	The development of the 2050 Calculator's cost methodology was open to the public, and scrutinised by experts across the energy field. However, given the long timeframe involved, there are still considerable uncertainties around the estimates.

Electricity Generation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total amount of spending on constraint payments was, by type of technology, in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) 2009, (iv) 2010, (v) 2011 and (vi) 2012 to date.

Charles Hendry: Total constraint costs for generators of all types are as follows: (i) 2007-08—£70 million (ii) 2008-09—£263 million (iii) 2009-10—£139 million (iv) 2010-11—£170 million (v) 2011-12—£324 million.
	The Department does not hold the breakdown of constraint payments by type of technology. Constraint payments arise from actions taken by National Grid (in its role as System Operator) to resolve bottlenecks on the electricity transmission system. This is a competitive market, with the details of most such payments published at
	www.elexon.co.uk
	and
	www.bmreports.com

Energy

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take in respect of energy companies that do not meet commitments under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target Scheme and Community Energy Saving Programme by 31 December 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) obligations are both relevant requirements of the obligated companies supply and/or generating licences. Failure to meet the targets set under CERT or CESP means that a company would be in breach of its licence and it would then be for Ofgem to determine whether to take enforcement action and what form any such enforcement action should take. There are a range of enforcement options available to Ofgem, including a potential fine of up to 10% of a licence holder's turnover and ultimately revocation of the licence.
	The Government have no intention of extending the deadline for achievement of the targets under CERT and CESP beyond 31 December 2012.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the amount of (a) gas-powered and (b) renewable generation expected to come on-line in the next (i) five and (ii) 10 years.

Charles Hendry: The Carbon Plan, which was published on 1 December 2011, set out a range of scenarios to highlight the possibilities and the challenges we will face in decarbonising the economy between now and 2050, using currently available knowledge. It is not possible to predict with certainty the most cost-effective route to decarbonisation of the power sector and the scenarios are not intended to present a definitive assessment of a particular technology.
	Some estimates of future installed generation capacity, and the assumptions underlying these estimates, can be found in:
	DECC's Updated Emissions Projections:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/about/ec_social_res/analytic_projs/en_emis_projs/en_emis_projs.aspx
	DECC's Carbon Plan:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx
	More detail on the longer term vision for renewable electricity generation is presented in the renewable energy road map:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/renewable-energy/2167-uk-renewable-energy-roadmap.pdf
	It illustrates that, despite starting from a low base, the UK is on course to achieve its legally-binding commitment of 15% of energy consumption coming from renewable sources by 2020.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects Ofgem to publish its next update on the (a) community energy saving programme and (b) carbon emission reduction target.

Gregory Barker: The last annual progress report on Community Energy Saving Programme was published in May this year and Ofgem plan to publish their next update on the scheme in September 2012.
	Ofgem are required to submit their annual progress report on the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), by 1 August 2012 and the report will be published shortly thereafter.

Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what level of generating capacity in gigawatts of renewable energy is currently (a) in the construction phase, (b) in the planning process and (c) fully operational, by type of technology.

Charles Hendry: The information is provided in the following tables(1).
	
		
			 Operational 
			 Technology Operational 2010 RESTATS data Operational since January 2011 
			 Biomass 447.4 789.8 
			 Co-firing 390.2 — 
			 RO Hydro 195.4 3.6 
			 Landfill gas 1,024.6 — 
			 Offshore Round 0 14.0 — 
			 Offshore Round 1 962.4 150.0 
			 Offshore Round 2 364.8 367.2 
			 Demonstration Projects — — 
			 Offshore Round 3 — — 
			 Offshore Round 1 and 2 extensions — — 
			 Scottish Territorial Waters — — 
			 Wind Offshore Total 1,341.2 517.2 
			 Wind Onshore 4,035.7 758.5 
			 Sewage gas 189.2 — 
			 Wave and Tide 2.6 0.8 
			 Photovoltaics 76.9 102.7 
			 Large hydro 1,452.9 — 
			 Waste 435.3 108.7 
			 Total 9,591.4 2,281.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Under construction, awaiting construction and in planning 
			  Total Installed Capacity (MW) 
			  Post consent Pre consent 
			  Under construction Awaiting construction Application being considered 
			  LPA S36 LPA S36 LPA S36 
			 Biomass 199.9 0.0 1,006.5 2,130.0 195.2 360.0 
			 Co-firing — — — — 0.0 170.0 
			 RO Hydro 5.3 3.6 26.9 93.8 14.3 0.8 
			 Landfill gas 5.2 0.0 29.7 0.0 4.5 0.0 
			 Offshore Round 0 — — — — — — 
			 Offshore Round 1 0.0 62.1 — — — — 
			 Offshore Round 2 0.0 2,667.0 0.0 970.0 0.0 2,920.0 
			 Demonstration Projects — — 0.0 12.0 0.0 99.9 
			 Offshore Round 3 — — 0.0 6.0 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Offshore Round 1 and 2 extensions — — — — 0.0 504.0 
			 Scottish Territorial Waters — — — — 0.0 997.2 
			 Wind Offshore Total 0.0 2,729.1 0.0 988.0 0.0 4,521.1 
			 Wind Onshore 855.6 1,364.7 2,581.3 1,636.4 3,443.1 3,007.8 
			 Sewage gas — — 8.5 0.0 — — 
			 Wave and Tide 0.0 20.5 1.2 19.6 0.0 17.5 
			 Photovoltaics 28.7 0.0 251.0 0.0 119.0 0.0 
			 Large hydro — — — — — — 
			 Waste 78.3 100.0 569.8 239.0 239.0 60.0 
			 Total 1,173.1 4,217.9 4,475.0 5,106.8 4,015.1 8,137.2 
			 (1)Source —RESTATS DECC data sheet May 2012: https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/datasheet

Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what level of generating capacity in gigawatts of energy from (a) gas and (b) coal is currently (i) in the planning process, (ii) in the construction phase and (iii) fully operational.

Charles Hendry: There is currently 2.1 GW of gas generating capacity in respect of applications over 50 MW in the planning system in England and Wales; no coal is currently in the planning system(1).
	In early June, over 3 GW of (gas) capacity was under construction in the UK. This is in addition to around 35 GW of gas capacity and around 29 GW of coal capacity, which was fully operational at the end of December 2010(2).
	(1) The figure for projects in the planning process does not account for projects that have been consented but are not yet under construction. Pre-applications projects under the Planning Act are also not included, as these are not considered applications until developers actually submit an application. There is a significant volume of new CCGT capacity at various stages of the planning process, with more than 15 GW of new CCGT capacity having been granted consent in the UK (which includes Hatfield, which is currently designated as a CCGT).
	(2) Source—Table DUKES 5.7 of the 2011 Digest of UK Energy Statistics, available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/electricity/electricity.aspx
	Data as at the end of 2011 will be available on 26 July 2012. Fully operational coal capacity includes 23.1 GW of coal-fired capacity plus 5.6 GW of mixed or dual-fired capacity and a further 0.6 GW of capacity listed under ‘Other generators' ‘conventional steam'. Fully operational gas capacity includes 34.1 GW of CCGT capacity plus 1.1 GW of gas capacity listed under ‘Other generators' ‘conventional steam'.

Energy: Conservation

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the success of the Government's efforts to persuade domestic and business electricity users to switch lights and energy appliances off when not needed.

Gregory Barker: I have made no such assessment.

Energy: Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish an index of (a) domestic energy prices, (b) domestic gas prices and (c) domestic electricity prices for each year since 2007.

Charles Hendry: DECC publishes annual and quarterly indices for domestic energy, gas and electricity in Table 2.1.1 of the publication Quarterly Energy Prices, available on the DECC website:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/media/viewfile.ashx?filepath=statistics/source/prices/qep211.xls&filetype=4&minwidth=true
	A summary table is provided for reference:
	
		
			 Indices for domestic gas, electricity and energy on 2005=100 base year, current terms 
			  Gas Electricity Energy (fuel and light) 
			 2007 142.1 131.4 133.4 
			 2008 170.1 151.9 158.7 
			 2009 193.5 158.8 168.6 
			 2010 182.0 154.9 164.0 
			 20 J1 201.4 166.1 181.4 
		
	
	Real terms data are available in Table 2.1.2 of the above publication, with monthly data in Table 2.1.3 on the DECC website.

Energy: Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on the regulatory response to recent changes in the cost of energy for domestic use; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers meet with Ofgem officials on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.
	Electricity and gas pricing for domestic households is a commercial matter for the companies concerned. It is for Ofgem, as the independent regulator of the gas and electricity markets, to consider whether further regulatory protection is required.

Environment Protection

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the Government's progress in building a low-carbon economy; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The UK's low carbon and environmental goods and services sector grew 4.7% in 2010-11 to £122 billion—and is the sixth largest in the world. We already have a £5 billion export surplus and are outpacing global growth rates for this sector.
	We are creating the right market conditions for low carbon investment. Our electricity market reform will secure £110 billion of investment in low carbon energy over the next decade. And the Green Deal is expected to kick start around £10 billion worth of private sector investment in home energy improvements—supporting up to 60,000 jobs in the insulation industry. Energy efficiency improvements are reducing emissions—and costs—for businesses across all sectors of the economy.

Fuel Poverty

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in Scotland in fuel poverty in (a) the private rented sector, (b) local authority housing, (c) social housing and (d) owner-occupied housing since 2009.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is a devolved measurement and each country of the UK is responsible for measuring the number of fuel poor households in their own country.
	The following data show the number of households in fuel poverty derived from the Scottish House Condition Survey for 2010:
	63,000 (27% of private rented households)
	120,000 (32% of local authority households)
	199,000 (30% of social housing overall including 79,000 (29%) in non-local authority housing (housing associations, etc.))
	396,000 (27% of owner-occupied households).

Fuels: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency spend more than 10 per cent of their income on fuel bills; and if he will detail the steps that he is taking to address this.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and supporting low income and vulnerable consumers to heat their homes at an affordable cost.
	A household is said to be fuel poor if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth. Fuel poverty is therefore based on modelled spending on energy rather than actual spending. In 2010, the latest year for which data are available, the number of households in Birmingham, Ladywood in fuel poverty was estimated to be 10,800.(1)
	(1) Sub-regional fuel poverty levels are modelled using a combination of national data taken from the 2010 English Housing Survey data and nationally available small area datasets such as the census. The 2010 sub-regional figures, and the full methodology behind them, can be found here:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/regional/regional.aspx
	We continue to fund the Warm Front scheme, providing low income vulnerable households, living in energy inefficient properties, with a range of energy efficient heating and insulation measures. Since 2005, Warm Front has assisted 5,482 households in the Birmingham, Ladywood Constituency.(2) Since the start of the scheme in June 2000 the scheme has assisted 2.3 million households across England.
	(2) This information is only available post 2005.
	In winter 2011-12, the Warm Home Discount scheme provided energy supplier funded discounts to around 700,000 of the poorest pensioners across Great Britain with a Core Group discount of £120 off electricity bills. Nearly 600,000 of these customers received the discount without having to claim, as a result of data matching between Government and energy suppliers. This is a significant benefit for a group which may struggle to claim. Other low income vulnerable households may also be assisted through the scheme. Overall we expect 2 million low income vulnerable households a year to be assisted through the Warm Home Discount scheme.
	We recently published the consultation response regarding the new Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which will be our flagship policy for improving the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock. Due to launch in October 2012, ECO will run alongside the Green Deal and will have twin objectives to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. ECO requires energy suppliers to help households access more expensive insulation measures such as solid wall and hard to treat cavity wall insulation through the Green Deal and to provide measures to low income and vulnerable households to help reduce the costs of staying warm and healthy. Through ECO around £540 million will be spent annually by suppliers to assist low income households and low income areas.
	In addition, Government provides pensioner households with winter fuel payments to help with additional heating costs during the winter. Cold weather payments are also made to low income and vulnerable households where there is an average temperature of 0°C or below for seven consecutive days. These payments have been permanently increased to £25 per week and in winter 2011-12 over 5 million cold weather payments were paid in Great Britain worth an estimated £129 million.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  which (a) individuals, (b) companies, (c) organisations and (d) local authorities have received funding from the £3.5 million pledged by his Department to train Green Deal assessors and installers; and how much each such individual and organisation received;
	(2)  what selection criteria were used by his Department when allocating the £3.5 million of funding to train Green Deal assessors and installers.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 11 July 2012
	The Department delegated this funding to Asset Skills and Construction Skills to run competitions to allocate support on our behalf. Details of the relevant processes, including the selection criteria which they used, and the eventual funding decisions reached, will shortly be made available on the individual sector skills websites, for advisers at:
	www.assetskills.org
	and for installers at:
	http://www.cskills.org/

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will ensure that (a) Green Deal promotional materials, (b) speeches on the Green Deal made by Ministers and (c) press releases on the Green Deal make clear that the golden rule is not a savings guarantee.

Gregory Barker: It is important to communicate that the savings calculated under the Golden Rule are an estimate of expected savings rather than a guarantee, since savings are subject to customer discretion as well as product performance. We will ensure that materials produced by DECC clearly communicate this.
	However products that are paid for by Green Deal finance and are at fault will be protected by warranties. In addition, consumers can seek redress if the Golden Rule is shown to have been calculated incorrectly and payments can be revised down to reflect the correct calculation.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's consultation on the Green Deal, what progress has been made on training community organisers to work with communities on local energy efficiency projects under the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation; and how many such organisers have begun working on Green Deal projects.

Gregory Barker: Local partnerships of councils, communities and local businesses are central to the delivery of the Green Deal. In recognition of this we have been working to ensure that they are all prepared.
	For example, earlier this year, the Department ran a Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF) scheme that distributed £9.2 million to 236 community groups to help them to understand the potential for improvements in energy efficiency and local deployment of renewable energy. Around 80% of these schemes included energy efficiency at the community level and details of the successful schemes can be found on the website at:
	http://www.greencommunitiescc.org.uk

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent progress has been made on providing financial support for the Green Deal Finance Company.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Finance Company is a commercial consortium which has developed a business plan to deliver a financing and aggregation vehicle for Green Deal loans. The Green Deal Finance Company has requested a loan from UK Green Investments (UKGI) and UKGI is currently considering that request. The details of those discussions are currently subject to commercial confidentiality.

Green Deal Scheme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether funding that has been allocated to finance incentives for the Green Deal but not spent in the financial year 2012-13 can be rolled over for use in financial year 2013-14.

Gregory Barker: £30 million was allocated to fund Green Deal incentives in financial year 2012-13. Treasury rules on budget exchange allow Departments to carry over up to 1% of resource underspends and 2% of capital underspends into future years. Any roll-over of incentives funding would be subject to this limit.

Natural Gas: Imports

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of gas used in the UK that will be imported by 2020.

Charles Hendry: DECC publishes projections of UK gas demand and production from which the implied level of net gas imports can be derived. The latest central projections are summarised at:
	http://og.decc.gov.uk/en/olgs/cms/data_maps/field_data/field_data.aspx
	They imply annual net import dependency of 55% in 2020 but, as with all such projections, great uncertainty applies to this estimate.

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to encourage investment in nuclear power.

Charles Hendry: The Government is committed to ensuring that conditions are right for investment in new nuclear. We have completed our facilitative actions on planning, financing for decommissioning and waste disposal and reactor design and set out reforms to transform the power sector to enable future low carbon investment. It is for energy companies to construct, operate and decommission nuclear power stations without public subsidy.

Departmental Pay

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the largest amount paid to an individual member of staff at his Department as a bonus was in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently awards both non consolidated end of year performance awards and in year special awards.
	The Department uses non consolidated performance related payments to help drive high performance in the organisations as they:
	encourage continuous high attainment because the payments are dependent upon continuing strong performance
	prevent a permanent rise in salary and an increase in pension on the basis of one off performances while still allowing good performance to be rewarded
	have no long term costs, in particular they do not increase future pension payments
	focus the work of employees more directly on the priority goals of the organisation
	motivate employees by linking an element of compensation to the achievement of objectives
	target money at those who make the biggest contribution
	End of year non consolidated performance awards are used to reward the Department’s highest performers as assessed in their end of year appraisal reports.
	Non consolidated in year special awards are used to recognise performance or behaviours which might not be fully reflected in an end of year performance appraisal. These may be used to reward staff for exceptional pieces of work or taking on additional responsibilities.
	The largest performance award paid to a member of staff in the Department of Energy and Climate Change is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Largest award (£) 
			 January to December 2010 12,500 
			 January to December 2011 12,000

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Gregory Barker: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the COINS database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of feed-in tariff contracts for difference on competition in the energy retail market;
	(2)  with reference to his Department's Electricity Market Reform Impact Assessment, whether he considered the potential effects of feed-in tariff contracts for difference on independent energy retailers and electricity generators.

Gregory Barker: Feed-in Tariffs with Contracts for Difference allow all forms of low carbon generation to compete on a level playing field, by providing greater price certainty through revenue stabilisation. This will reduce the cost of capital and incentivise more low carbon investment to take place.
	However, as recognised in the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) White Paper and accompanying impact assessment, there are a number of barriers to entry and growth in electricity generation and supply markets. One key barrier and an important enabler for EMR to deliver effectively is liquidity in the electricity wholesale market.
	In the past 12 months we have seen some positive steps being taken. We welcome this; however, forward market liquidity still remains a significant issue for independents and industry needs to go further to address it.
	Ofgem also recognise it as a significant issue and have just finished consulting on proposals to address this. We support the objectives set out in their consultation and in the continued absence of substantive voluntary actions we expect Ofgem to take forward workable proposals.
	We have also heard from some independent generators that there are difficulties securing long-term contracts for their power. We have listened carefully and responded to concerns by issuing a Call for Evidence which will inform Government's response.
	Where there are barriers to entry not addressed by Ofgem or industry action Government will work with all stakeholders to take appropriate action to address them.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what support his Department provides to projects for renewable heating in social housing.

Gregory Barker: Over the last year, the Government supported 37 social housing projects through the first Renewable Heating Premium Payment (RHPP) competition, to install renewable heating technologies. At the end of the scheme on 31 March 2012, this had resulted in the deployment of 948 renewable heating technologies in 914 households, at a cost of £3.7 million. Early feedback from social landlords indicates that tenants have found living with these technologies a positive experience with some providing anecdotal evidence of reductions in fuel costs .
	In May 2012, the Government opened a second Renewable Heat Premium Payment competition, increasing funding for this sector to £10 million. This competition has now closed and we are reviewing applications at this stage. An announcement on the outcome of the competition will be made shortly.

Renewables Obligation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the value of penalties issued under the Renewables Obligation was, by company at which the penalty was imposed, in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date.

Gregory Barker: The buyout payments made by suppliers who did not fully meet their obligations under the Renewables Obligation for the periods 2009-10 and 2010-11 are included in the following annual reports on the Ofgem Renewables Obligation webpage
	(1)
	as follows:
	(1)Note:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/RenewablObl/Pages/RenewablObl.aspx
	2009-10:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/RenewablObl/Documents1/RO%20Annual%20Report%202009-10.pdf
	—see Table A10, column ‘Total payments made by Suppliers’
	2010-11:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/RenewablObl/Documents1/Renewables%20Obligation%20Annual%20Report%202010-11.pdf
	—see Table A2, column ‘Total payments’
	Buyout and late payments for 2011-12 have not yet been determined. Ofgem will publish the final values of the Buyout and Late Payment funds for the 2011-12 Obligation period later this year.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff of his Department were in the Civil Service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Gregory Barker: As of 10 July 2012 there were six staff in the Department of Energy and Climate Change redeployment pool. Five have been on the register for over six months.

Wind Power

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on subsidies for onshore wind farms.

Edward Davey: I regularly discuss Government policy with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my Cabinet colleagues.
	Throughout the renewables obligation banding review and the comprehensive review of feed-in tariffs I have had discussions with many stakeholders, and with my officials and ministerial colleagues, on subsidies for wind farm generators.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress his Department and its agencies have made on implementation of the Manchester Declaration of 2005.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and its agencies did not have a role in the implementation of the Manchester Declaration of 2005. This declaration and its implementation were the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. However, DCMS is responsible for co-ordinating the UK's response to the Digital Agenda for Europe, the EU's five-year ICT strategy. The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), believes that the main priority arising from the Digital Agenda should be the creation of a true European Digital Single Market that could help realise much needed economic growth within the EU. DCMS is spending £830 million up to 2015 on infrastructure programmes run by Broadband Delivery UK as well as managing the process that will lead to the auction of spectrum to support 4G mobile broadband services. These programmes will help to ensure that the digital infrastructure to deliver essential public services is as widely available throughout the UK as possible.

Mobile Phones

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2012, Official Report, column 332W, on mobile telephones, whether his official mobile telephone device is capable of sending and receiving emails from private accounts.

Jeremy Hunt: All departmental BlackBerrys are associated with a specific official mailbox and no other. They receive any email sent to the associated mailbox that is allowed through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Public Service, spam filters and anti-virus software. The devices will only send emails from the associated official account. However, the devices can access the internet and would be capable of accessing webmail services such as gmail and Hotmail.

Television: Subtitling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has undertaken any research on the importance to people with hearing loss of the provision of subtitles on all broadcast programmes.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has not undertaken any research on the importance to people with hearing loss of the provision of subtitles on broadcast programmes.
	As part of the Communications Review process, DCMS has published a paper on the ‘Consumer Perspective' which, among other things, asks questions about accessibility issues and we welcome any evidence or research being fed in to the Review. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the DCMS eAccessibility Forum, and comments on this and other papers can be submitted before 14 September, via the Communications Review website:
	http://dcmscommsreview.readandcomment.com/

Television: Subtitling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he proposes to include discussion of subtitle provision on broadcast television programmes in the series of seminars planned to replace a Communications Green Paper.

Edward Vaizey: As part of the Communications Review process, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a paper on the ‘Consumer Perspective’ which, among other things, asks questions about accessibility issues. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the DCMS eAccessibility Forum, and comments on this and other papers can be submitted before 14 September, via the Communications Review website:
	http://dcmscorhmsreview.readandcomment.com/
	More information about the forum can be found at:
	http://www.discuss.culture.gov.uk/eaccessibility/

Tourism

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the average spend per night by Japanese tourist visitors to the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

John Penrose: The Department does not record this information. However, the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics, reports that the average spend per night by Japanese tourist visitors in 2011 was £109.
	We have defined Japanese tourists as Japanese residents visiting the UK on holiday. This does not include Japanese residents visiting friends/relatives, on business or studying.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 780W, on alcoholic drinks: young people, how many of the admissions of people under the age of 18 years in each (a) socio-economic, (b) ethnic and (c) gender group admitted to hospital with suspected alcohol-induced conditions in each of the last 10 years were (i) wholly and (ii) partially attributable to alcohol.

Anne Milton: The following table gives the estimated number of admissions with an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis. The earliest year for which such estimates are available is 2002-03.
	In the case of patients aged 16 or over, the estimates are based on the proportion of diseases and injuries that can be wholly or partially attributed to alcohol. In the case of patients aged under 16, the figures relate only to diseases and injuries wholly attributable to alcohol, as research is not available for this age group to estimate diseases and injuries that can be partially attributed to alcohol. Some of the observed increase in admissions for patients aged 16 or over is the result of improvements in the recording of secondary diagnoses.
	
		
			 Estimated number of admissions of patients aged under 18 with an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis¹, split by (i) wholly attributable and (ii) partially attributable conditions and (a) socio-economic group², (b) ethnicity³, and (c) gender for the years 2002-3 to 2010-11: Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 (a) Socio-economic group 
			  2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Socio-economic group Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Least deprived 10% 367 319 426 347 438 350 
			 Less deprived 10-20% 461 369 464 349 506 369 
			 Less deprived 20-30% 427 355 541 339 528 387 
			 Less deprived 30-40% 456 339 572 332 572 417 
			 Less deprived 40-50% 489 402 557 394 598 431 
			 More deprived 40-50% 572 453 639 471 702 522 
			 More deprived 30-40% 684 554 752 518 805 608 
			 More deprived 20-30% 757 491 864 583 949 631 
			 More deprived 10-20% 871 646 947 659 1,035 751 
			 Most deprived 10% 1,062 824 1,191 983 1,309 921 
			 Unknown 60 36 81 51 111 56 
		
	
	
		
			 (a) Socio-economic group 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			 Socio-economic group Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Least deprived 10% 511 388 474 383 452 420 
			 Less deprived 10-20% 571 428 465 441 543 418 
			 Less deprived 20-30% 565 431 533 432 588 504 
			 Less deprived 30-40% 638 526 614 542 667 457 
			 Less deprived 40-50% 735 499 734 529 656 544 
			 More deprived 40-50% 808 567 754 611 741 619 
			 More deprived 30-40% 897 591 884 585 863 581 
			 More deprived 20-30% 1,073 661 1,063 677 1,025 713 
			 More deprived 10-20% 1,166 710 1,196 777 1,149 834 
			 Most deprived 10% 1,433 1,023 1,574 1,017 1,425 1,078 
			 Unknown 141 68 140 61 158 80 
		
	
	
		
			 (a) Socio-economic group 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Socio-economic group Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Least deprived 10% 411 392 368 410 334 420 
			 Less deprived 10-20% 441 446 415 477 370 473 
			 Less deprived 20-30% 515 451 469 434 391 503 
			 Less deprived 30-40% 502 468 502 456 420 496 
			 Less deprived 40-50% 544 469 531 506 501 485 
			 More deprived 40-50% 623 596 648 549 613 559 
			 More deprived 30-40% 721 613 693 653 647 678 
			 More deprived 20-30% 817 716 895 700 767 701 
			 More deprived 10-20% 970 736 1,020 832 864 805 
			 Most deprived 10% 1,220 1,023 1,137 989 1,148 1,017 
			 Unknown 112 61 103 44 88 51 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Ethnic group 
			   2002-03(4) 2003-04 2004-05 
			  Ethnicity Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 A British (White) 2,923 2,382 3,792 2,931 4,361 3,394 
			 B Irish (White) 4 6 8 7 11 7 
			 C Any other White background 126 107 137 113 157 130 
			 D White and Black Caribbean (Mixed) 19 10 14 16 16 13 
			 E White and Black African (Mixed) 4 1 3 8 1 6 
			 F White and Asian (Mixed) 3 9 6 7 7 6 
			 G Any other Mixed background 16 8 14 12 15 10 
			 H Indian (Asian or Asian British) 20 32 43 35 28 51 
			 J Pakistani (Asian or Asian British) 3 56 6 63 7 96 
			 K Bangladeshi (Asian or Asian British) 4 11 7 14 12 16 
			 L Any other Asian background) 5 19 8 19 14 20 
			 M Caribbean (Black or Black British) 17 23 21 34 14 34 
			 N African (Black or Black British) 16 13 14 24 7 36 
			 P Any other Black background 12 32 21 42 21 45 
			 R Chinese (other ethnic group) 1 12 5 11 6 3 
			 S Any other ethnic group 29 51 50 35 53 50 
			 X Not known 155 89 555 343 591 307 
			 Z Not stated 2,200 1,448 2,330 1,312 2,232 1,218 
			 0 White 212 215 — — — — 
			 1 Black—Caribbean 3 4 — — — — 
			 2 Black—African — 2 — — — — 
			 3 Black—Other 3 1 — — — — 
			 4 Indian — 0 — — — — 
			 5 Pakistani — 2 — — — — 
			 6 Bangladeshi — 1 — — — — 
			 8 Any other ethnic group 3 4 — — — — 
			 9 Not given 428 249 — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Ethnic group 
			   2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			  Ethnicity Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 A British (White) 5,440 3,914 5,828 4,283 6,098 4,624 
			 B Irish (White) 15 8 17 8 15 9 
			 C Any other White background 149 109 139 111 149 118 
		
	
	
		
			 D White and Black Caribbean (Mixed) 26 16 28 23 17 27 
			 E White and Black African (Mixed) 3 3 3 3 8 8 
			 F White and Asian (Mixed) 3 8 5 25 17 32 
			 G Any other Mixed background 25 24 27 27 40 29 
			 H Indian (Asian or Asian British) 32 36 40 48 39 47 
			 J Pakistani (Asian or Asian British) 15 100 15 77 13 108 
			 K Bangladeshi (Asian or Asian British) 7 22 8 27 26 30 
			 L Any other Asian background) 13 27 16 35 20 45 
			 M Caribbean (Black or Black British) 25 34 25 37 29 45 
			 N African (Black or Black British) 13 36 25 48 19 49 
			 P Any other Black background 28 42 39 55 40 56 
			 R Chinese (other ethnic group) 2 6 1 7 4 6 
			 S Any other ethnic group 87 72 88 78 105 83 
			 X Not known 627 271 546 256 443 208 
			 Z Not stated 2,028 1,164 1,581 909 1,185 724 
			 0 White — — — — — — 
			 1 Black—Caribbean — — — — — — 
			 2 Black—African — — — — — — 
			 3 Black—Other — — — — — — 
			 4 Indian — — — — — — 
			 5 Pakistani — — — — — — 
			 6 Bangladeshi — — — — — — 
			 8 Any other ethnic group — — — — — — 
			 9 Not given — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Ethnic Group 
			   2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			  Ethnicity Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 A British (White) 5,314 4,515 5,461 4,642 4,904 4,741 
			 B Irish (White) 13 10 11 13 10 17 
			 C Any other White background 136 125 150 132 140 143 
			 D White and Black Caribbean (Mixed) 29 40 27 35 32 42 
			 E White and Black African (Mixed) 5 8 9 5 8 8 
			 F White and Asian (Mixed) 17 26 7 32 10 29 
			 G Any other Mixed background 30 38 44 32 41 36 
			 H Indian (Asian or Asian British) 45 52 36 59 40 65 
			 J Pakistani (Asian or Asian British) 18 130 17 142 23 138 
			 K Bangladeshi (Asian or Asian British) 25 26 27 26 36 26 
			 L Any other Asian background) 14 56 34 56 30 66 
			 M Caribbean (Black or Black British) 27 44 32 48 33 54 
			 N African (Black or Black British) 21 55 41 61 32 87 
			 P Any other Black background 41 58 36 66 45 71 
			 R Chinese (other ethnic group) 5 8 6 10 8 8 
		
	
	
		
			 S Any other ethnic group 88 92 106 105 118 107 
			 X Not known 228 134 184 129 169 116 
			 Z Not stated 820 553 553 456 464 437 
			 0 White — — — — — — 
			 1 Black—Caribbean — — — — — — 
			 2 Black—African — — — — — — 
			 3 Black—Other — — — — — — 
			 4 Indian — — — — — — 
			 5 Pakistani — — — — — — 
			 6 Bangladeshi — — — — — — 
			 8 Any other ethnic group — — — — — — 
			 9 Not given — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Gender 
			  2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Gender Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Male 2,901 2,566 3,236 2,612 3,380 2,823 
			 Female 3,305 2,222 3,798 2,413 4,173 2,620 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Gender 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			 Gender Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Male 3,811 3,068 3,790 3,115 3,536 3,110 
			 Female 4,727 2,824 4,641 2,939 4,731 3,138 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Gender 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Gender Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable Wholly attributable Partially attributable 
			 Male 2,974 2,935 2,923 2,915 2,657 2,906 
			 Female 3,902 3,035 3,858 3,135 3,486 3,283 
			 (1) Alcohol-related admissions The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO), which uses 48 indicators for alcohol-related illnesses, determining the proportion of a wide range of diseases and injuries that can be partly attributed to alcohol as well as those that are, by definition, wholly attributable to alcohol. Further information on these proportions can be found at: www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/AlcoholAttributableFractions.pdf The application of the NWPHO methodology has recently been updated and is now available directly from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). As such, information about episodes estimated to be alcohol related may be slightly different from previously published data. (2) Socio-economic group The socio-economic group used is derived from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). IMD is a measure of multiple deprivation which ranks the relative deprivation of each area of England in a number domains (such as crime and income) and then combines the individual scores to produce a composite score for each area. The patient's residential postcode is then mapped to one of these areas, and summarised into 10 groups for presentation. The version of IMD used was published in 2004. For further details see: www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/131206.pdf (3) Ethnicity Ethnicity data may not be good enough to allow accurate analysis, including analysis of ethnic differences. Ethnic group was collected from 1 April 1995 to 31 March 2002 and Ethnic category, using the definitions in the 2001 census, from 1 April 2002. Patients are asked to select their category from a standard list, and some decline to do this. Data may therefore be incomplete and of poor quality. (4) It should be noted that there was a change in the ethnic categories during this period (2002-03) and while some providers adopted the new definitions others still used the old definition. Notes: 1. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so are no longer included in admitted patient HES data. 2. Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 3. Activity included Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Baby Care Units

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of hospital trusts which are not meeting levels of care set out in his Department's Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's quality standard for specialised neonatal care.

Anne Milton: No such estimate has been made.
	It is for local hospital trusts and specialised commissioners to decide how best to use the guidance in the toolkit for high-quality neonatal services and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence quality standard for specialist neonatal care. The toolkit and quality standard are good practice tools that can assist commissioners and hospital trusts in the delivery of safe, high quality neonatal services that achieve the best outcomes for babies.
	We have made ‘reducing deaths in babies and young children', including perinatal and infant mortality, areas for improvement in the NHS Outcomes Framework for 2012-13. The Department will hold the NHS Commissioning Board to account for its performance against outcomes in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Breast Cancer

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59, (c) 60 to 69, (d) 70 to 79, (e) 80 to 89 and (f) over 90 years had breast conserving surgical procedures in each (i) cancer network and (ii) primary care trust in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: This information cannot be provided in the format requested. We have provided a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for women with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer and a main or secondary procedure of partial excision of breast. The data have been presented by cancer network, primary care trust (PCT) of residence and by the selected age groups. This information has been placed in the Library.
	FCEs should not be described as a count of patients as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion. Cancer network data are not available prior to 2009-10 and therefore data from 1997-98 to 2008-09 are provided at PCT level only.

Breast Cancer

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59, (c) 60 to 69, (d) 70 to 79, (e) 80 to 89 and (f) over 90 years received any active treatment for breast cancer in each (i) cancer network and (ii) primary care trust in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: This information cannot be provided in the format requested. We have provided a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer by cancer network, primary care trust (PCT) of residence and by the selected age groups. This information has been placed in the Library.
	FCEs should not be described as a count of patients as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion. Cancer network data are not available prior to 2009-10 and therefore data from 1997-98 to 2008-09 are provided at PCT level only.

Cancer

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  by what means cancer networks are funded;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure cancer networks can be supported beyond 2013 in order to continue to improve the quality of care across integrated pathways.

Paul Burstow: Funding to support cancer networks is mainly provided through what is called the Strategic Health Authority bundle. In addition to funding from the bundle, networks receive funding from other sources, such as their constituent primary care trusts or from one or more of their provider trusts.
	We have made it clear that there will be a continual role for clinical networks, such as cancer networks, in the reformed national health service. The networks are a place where clinicians from different sectors come together to improve the quality of care across integrated pathways.
	The cancer networks are a clear example of how this way of working delivers better quality care and we are continuing to fund the networks in 2012-13. From April 2013, the funding of the networks will be a decision for the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB). The NHS CB will also set levels of accountability.
	A review of clinical networks is currently under way by the NHS CB Authority to consider the functions, structures and governance that will most effectively support commissioners to deliver improved quality and outcomes in the future.

Cancer: Males

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to raise awareness among young people and in schools of (a) testicular cancer and (b) other male cancers; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’ set out a commitment to work with charities that represent patients with less common cancers, such as those affecting children and young people, to assess what more can be done to encourage awareness, appropriate referrals to secondary care and to diagnose such cancers earlier. During 2011, departmental officials met with 18 charities to hear their concerns on these issues, including two charities representing children and young people with cancer. The outcome of these discussions has been fed into the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative and is informing activity in this area.
	Regarding awareness of testicular cancer, we would encourage men to be aware of any unusual changes and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. The Department collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet, ‘Detecting Testicular Cancer: Spot The Symptoms Early’.
	The Department has undertaken no other awareness activity among young people in relation to the other two male cancers. Both prostate and penile cancer primarily affect older men and the latter is also very rare.
	The Department for Education (DFE) is responsible for matters concerning health education and awareness in schools. The current personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education non-statutory framework includes the importance of healthy lifestyles. It provides opportunities for pupils to discuss health issues that teachers identify as being relevant to them, which could include cancer awareness and health advocacy. Many schools also use external organisations to provide young people with information about cancer including how to seek professional advice.
	The DFE is currently reviewing PSHE education to identify the core body of knowledge that pupils need and to determine how it can support schools to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching. It will publish the outcome of the review later in the year.

Dental Services: Foreign Workers

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists-in-training there were in each of the last five years; and what proportion were not British citizens in each year.

Simon Burns: This information is not held centrally. Information on the areas of residence of students admitted to dental schools over the last five years are included in the annual returns ‘Intake of Pre-clinical Medical Dental Students’, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which have been placed in the Library.

Health Services

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to publish a commissioning outcomes framework for specialised services to measure the quality of commissioning of such services by the NHS Commissioning Board.

Simon Burns: As set out in ‘Our NHS care objectives', the draft mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, the Government intends that there should be robust and transparent arrangements to provide assurance about the quality of the services that the NHS Commissioning Board itself commissions, including specialised services. One of the proposed objectives in the draft mandate is for the board to put in place such arrangements so that the Department is able to hold the board to account for the quality of these services.
	The intended purpose of the Commissioning Outcomes Framework is to provide assurance about the quality of services commissioned by clinical commissioning groups and the health outcomes achieved from these services. It is not, therefore, intended that the Commissioning Outcomes Framework would in itself cover the services directly commissioned by the board, but the board would publish information on the quality of specialised services and other directly commissioned services alongside information from the Commissioning Outcomes Framework.

Health Services

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made in reviewing clinical networks; and when he expects the review to conclude.

Simon Burns: To date, over 800 stakeholders have contributed to work being taken forward by the NHS Commissioning Board Authority (NHS CBA) on the development of clinical networks. These include patients, clinicians, commissioners, providers, Royal Colleges and academics. The NHS CBA will publish its recommendations for clinical networks in the new health system by the end of July.

Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms he plans to put in place to provide effective scrutiny of the decisions made by (a) the national Commissioning Board and (b) clinical commissioning groups.

Simon Burns: The Government will set objectives in a mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board that it must seek to achieve.
	The mandate is one part of a wider cycle of accountability for the NHS Commissioning Board. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 makes clear that the board must publish a business plan each year, setting out how it intends to carry out its functions and deliver the objectives and requirements in the mandate. The Secretary of State must keep the board's performance under review, including how it is performing against the mandate. The Act also states that the board must publish a report at the end of each year saying how it has performed and that the Secretary of State must then publish an assessment of the board's performance.
	Besides these formal requirements, there will be an ongoing sponsorship relationship between the Department and the board, which will be outlined in a framework agreement. In particular, the Secretary of State will hold formal accountability meetings with the Chair of the board, normally every two months, and the minutes of these meetings will be published.
	The NHS Commissioning Board will develop a commissioning outcomes framework to drive up quality and provide transparency and accountability about the quality of services that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) commission for their patients.
	While the board will be expected to give CCGs freedom to commission services tailored to the needs of their local population, CCGs will be accountable to the NHS Commissioning Board through an annual performance assessment. This will, in addition to reviewing progress against the commissioning outcomes framework, assess how well the CCG has met its financial duties and other statutory duties, including its duty to act consistently with the mandate. This will provide a direct line of accountability back to the expectations set out in the mandate. The board must publish a report annually summarising the results of all its performance assessments of CCGs.

Medical Equipment: Procurement

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts on the criteria used to award tenders for the supply of medical devices.

Simon Burns: The Department does not issue guidance to national health service trusts about the criteria used to award tenders for the supply of medical devices. The supply of medical devices is covered by the European Union public procurement regulations.

NHS

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts on local flexibility within the national tariff.

Simon Burns: The Department published a suite of documents on its website on 16 February 2012 to support the implementation of the Payment by Results national tariff for 2012-13. This included ‘Payment by Results Guidance’ for 2012-13, section 13 of which sets out guidelines for the application of local flexibilities to national tariffs.
	The Department also published on 16 February 2012 a ‘Code of Conduct for Payment by Results in 2012-13’, section 10 of which refers to the application of flexibilities.
	Both documents have been placed in the Library.

NHS

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will report on the progress of the cross-sector task and finish groups on implementation of the recommendations of his Department's Innovation, Health and Wealth report;
	(2)  how his Department plans to ensure that local NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups fully implement the recommendations of its Innovation, Health and Wealth report.

Simon Burns: Since publishing ‘Innovation Health and Wealth: accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS’ we have established 26 cross-sector ‘Task and Finish’ groups to lead implementation and progress is on track.
	The NHS is mobilising to deliver the recommendations and the NHS Chief Executive has asked all primary care trust clusters to ensure plans are in place to deliver Innovation Health and Wealth.

Out of Area Treatment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2012, Official Report, column 1106W, on health services: reciprocal arrangements, how many patients registered at an address in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland received treatment at a hospital in England in each month between May 2007 and May 2010.

Simon Burns: The following tables show the number of finished admission episodes (in-patients), out-patient attendances (out-patient) and accident and emergency (A&E) attendances for patients identified as resident in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Strategic Health Authorities between the dates requested.
	
		
			 In-patient finished admission episodes (FAEs) 
			   Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Total FAEs 
			 2007 May 596 4,388 146 1,147,113 
			 2007 June 648 4,196 144 1,104,802 
			 2007 July 847 4,549 192 1,145,539 
			 2007 August 658 4,234 139 1,112,277 
			 2007 September 625 4,098 142 1,082,317 
			 2007 October 652 4,398 149 1,193,763 
			 2007 November 638 4,391 156 1,163,552 
			 2007 December 525 3,764 108 1,038,820 
			 2008 January 533 4,341 149 1,178,857 
			 2008 February 518 4,149 140 1,136,323 
			 2008 March 513 4,218 120 1,124,737 
			 2008 April 589 4,552 145 1,183,865 
			 2008 May 576 4,379 119 1,152,208 
			 2008 June 676 4,574 155 1,159,465 
			 2008 July 808 4,928 180 1,224,943 
			 2008 August 645 4,346 144 1,107,367 
			 2008 September 636 4,527 131 1,188,091 
			 2008 October 638 4,937 155 1,245,045 
			 2008 November 514 4,454 124 1,174,331 
			 2008 December 630 4,379 109 1,156,641 
			 2009 January 566 4,500 192 1,185,322 
			 2009 February 473 4,127 161 1,110,094 
			 2009 March 575 4,763 211 1,265,296 
			 2009 April 600 4,559 157 1,176,322 
			 2009 May 618 4,298 198 1,161,147 
			 2009 June 688 4,754 175 1,233,630 
			 2009 July 837 4,868 218 1,250,820 
			 2009 August 697 4,416 175 1,134,941 
			 2009 September 655 4,784 141 1,227,678 
			 2009 October 625 4,917 154 1,263,743 
			 2009 November 602 4,899 148 1,237,284 
			 2009 December 576 4,512 147 1,195,749 
			 2010 January 587 4,358 142 1,168,688 
			 2010 February 544 4,357 144 1,159,192 
			 2010 March 642 5,100 193 1,328,515 
			 2010 April 674 4611 131 1,197,916 
			 2010 May 608 4808 153 1,214,441 
		
	
	In addition, there were 14 FAEs relating to patients resident in Scotland during the period 2007-08 but the month of admission was unknown, so these records are not present in the table above.
	
		
			 Out-patient attendances 
			   Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Total attendances 
			 2007 May 1,239 16,077 232 4,587,402 
			 2007 June 1,310 15,610 187 4,482,970 
			 2007 July 1,412 16,366 191 4,657,427 
			 2007 August 1,336 15,924 213 4,437,888 
			 2007 September 1,199 15,236 209 4,401,026 
			 2007 October 1,486 18,005 266 5,018,526 
			 2007 November 1,363 17,357 218 4,892,107 
			 2007 December 1,054 13,524 162 3,804,210 
			 2008 January 1,344 17,823 216 5,007,974 
			 2008 February 1,232 16,829 214 4,664,936 
			 2008 March 1,207 15,156 175 4,300,343 
			 2008 April 1,414 18,636 258 5,231,205 
			 2008 May 1,262 16,881 243 4,736,639 
			 2008 June 1,410 17,797 224 5,015,809 
			 2008 July 1,551 19,048 264 5,356,906 
			 2008 August 1,259 16,069 201 4,429,787 
			 2008 September 1,529 19,185 235 5,254,169 
			 2008 October 1,457 19,105 240 5,466,323 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 November 1,416 18,101 246 4,996,065 
			 2008 December 1,245 16,768 220 4,691,664 
			 2009 January 1,301 17,742 254 5,184,452 
			 2009 February 1,207 16,243 292 4,689,794 
			 2009 March 1,460 19,107 368 5,554,413 
			 2009 April 1,381 19,819 348 5,418,178 
			 2009 May 1,221 18,049 249 5,117,063 
			 2009 June 1,523 21,141 315 5,954,518 
			 2009 July 1,589 21,546 348 5,893,611 
			 2009 August 1,394 18,244 362 5,053,890 
			 2009 September 1,565 21,559 419 5,924,923 
			 2009 October 1,456 21,361 369 5,851,855 
			 2009 November 1,352 20,970 355 5,842,119 
			 2009 December 1,246 18,438 248 5,219,020 
			 2010 January 1,195 18,078 273 5,235,358 
			 2010 February 1,188 20,277 300 5,517,135 
			 2010 March 1,500 23,461 377 6,386,367 
			 2010 April 1,414 21,256 290 5,625,951 
			 2010 May 1,332 20,253 281 5,589,873 
		
	
	
		
			 A&E attendances 
			   Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Total attendances 
			 2007 May 1,149 3,444 149 1,085,820 
			 2007 June 1,196 3,402 179 1,055,606 
			 2007 July 2,125 3,446 276 1,066,035 
			 2007 August 1,554 3,869 241 1,026,979 
			 2007 September 1,182 3,297 146 1,008,982 
			 2007 October 1,201 3,242 168 1,027,328 
			 2007 November 907 2,903 148 998,048 
			 2007 December 1,053 3,020 164 982,490 
			 2008 January 844 2,688 150 975,036 
			 2008 February 727 2,766 154 951,744 
			 2008 March 961 3,067 170 1,049,448 
			 2008 April 1,268 3,105 146 1,125,175 
			 2008 May 1,358 3,636 194 1,235,891 
			 2008 June 1,428 3,436 221 1,189,715 
			 2008 July 2,251 3,709 355 1,199,422 
			 2008 August 1,614 3,984 312 1,149,472 
			 2008 September 1,348 3,346 211 1,131,584 
			 2008 October 1,320 3,499 218 1,152,728 
			 2008 November 883 3,126 202 1,121,270 
			 2008 December 1,231 3,318 152 1,126,183 
			 2009 January 866 2,927 142 1,072,069 
			 2009 February 784 2,796 147 1,031,699 
			 2009 March 1,016 3,371 168 1,258,864 
			 2009 April 1,554 3,781 225 1,316,152 
			 2009 May 1,346 3,789 227 1,365,253 
			 2009 June 1,531 3,921 219 1,372,846 
			 2009 July 2,627 4,197 456 1,372,436 
			 2009 August 1,812 4,464 317 1,281,021 
			 2009 . September 1,405 3,739 182 1,298,934 
			 2009 October 1,507 3,742 220 1,341,259 
			 2009 November 1,017 3,384 192 1,275,185 
			 2009 December 1,182 3,360 211 1,271,028 
			 2010 January 923 2,906 156 1,198,195 
			 2010 February 909 2,940 161 1,127,791 
			 2010 March 991 3,318 180 1,349,636 
			 2010 April 1,552 3,755 236 1,361,001 
			 2010 May 1,443 4,041 255 1,443,785 
			 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre 
		
	
	It should be noted that for each of these measures, the number does not necessarily equate to the number of patients as it is possible for an individual to have more than one admission or attendance within the period.

Palliative Care

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of how much local authorities have spent on end of life care in each year since 2009 (a) by authority and (b) in total.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not available centrally.
	We are currently working through a number of Palliative Care Funding pilots to collect the data and information needed to help us develop a new per-patient funding system for palliative care, which we aim to have in place by 2015. The pilots include both health and social care services.

Palliative Care

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the likely changes required to the NHS work force to enable more people to die at home should they wish.

Simon Burns: The End of Life Care Strategy encourages commissioners and providers to develop the 24/7 community-based services which people need to be able to exercise the choice to be cared for and die at home. Decisions on what services to provide at a local level must rest with local commissioners who, working with patients and the public, are best placed to understand local need.
	The strategy also recognised that delivering quality services to individuals, their families and carers required a cultural shift in attitude and behaviour related to end of life care within the health and social care work force. We have taken forward a number of initiatives to train and develop the end of life care workforce, and, in particular, those staff for whom end of life care is only a part of their responsibilities. These include the development of core competences and principles; publishing an e-learning package on end of life care, free to access for health and social care staff; and supporting communication skills training.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Simon Burns: Civil servants in the Department are paid an annual salary on a monthly basis. The equivalent hourly rate is calculated from the monthly figure.
	For the financial year 2011-12 the lowest equivalent hourly rate paid to civil servants in the Department was £8.91.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will take steps to minimise uncertainty for NHS staff and patients arising from the decision to place South London Healthcare NHS Trust in trust special administration;
	(2)  under what timetable he proposes that the trust special administration process will achieve long-term clinical and financial suitability of health services provided by South London Healthcare NHS Trust;
	(3)  if he will take steps to ensure that the trust special administration process does not lead to South London Healthcare NHS Trust services being relocated to out-of-borough or central London hospitals that are hard to access for London borough of Bromley residents.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), earlier today announced details behind his decision to appoint a Trust Special Administrator to South London Healthcare NHS Trust.
	The Trust Special Administrator's regime offers a transparent framework to provide rapid resolution to problems within a significantly challenged NHS trust. The Secretary of State's decision is based on the need to secure a route forward to deliver long-term sustainability and the protection of access to quality services for the people of south-east London.
	We cannot prejudge the recommendations that will be made about what should happen to the organisation and the services it provides. That must be a matter for the appointed Trust Special Administrator. Staff and the public will be engaged in the administrator's process. The Secretary of State will make a final decision based on the administrator's recommendations, publishing that decision and the reasons for it in Parliament. We will do everything possible to bring this matter to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Jo Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that the consultation on the future of the services at Orpington Hospital will proceed independently of any decision to place South London Healthcare NHS Trust in trust special administration;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that health services prioritised in NHS South East London's Orpington Needs Assessment continue to be provided locally in Orpington rather than at Princess Royal, Farnborough or Queen Mary's, Sidcup.

Simon Burns: The reconfiguration of services is a matter for the local national health service. NHS London expects consultation on the future of Orpington health services to launch on 16 July 2012, subject to local approval.
	The Trust Special Administrator appointed to South London Healthcare NHS Trust will take into account responses to this consultation, so far as they are relevant, as he develops his own recommendations to the Secretary of State to secure a sustainable future for services provided by the trust, assuming the consultation goes ahead.

Thalidomide

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals in the near future to provide permanent financial assistance at least at the existing rate of the health grant to all UK thalidomiders for the rest of their lives.

Paul Burstow: On 12 June, I met with my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke), chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, and representatives of the Thalidomide Trust and National Advisory Council to discuss these issues. At that meeting I emphasised that decisions about whether to extend the grant or provide any other form of funding would be made once there had been a thorough assessment of the second year evaluation.

Thalidomide

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether any account can be taken by the relevant assessing authority of the receipt of the pilot Health Grant during a review of the care package of a thalidomide survivor;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the mortality rate of thalidomide survivors compared to the general population.

Paul Burstow: An individual's eligibility for statutory support is determined following assessment. Under section 47 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, local authorities have a duty to assess the needs of any person for whom the authority may provide or arrange the provision of community care services and who may be in need of such services.
	Best practice guidance, ‘Prioritising need in the context of Putting People First: A whole system approach to eligibility for social care in England’, was published in 2010 and a copy has already been placed in the Library.
	The care package in place and any review of this is dependent on the person's individual circumstances and preferences which should maximise an individual's choice in line with the personalisation of care.
	No assessment has been made by the Department of the mortality rate of thalidomide survivors compared to the general population.

Tobacco: Packaging

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  for what reasons he is extending the consultation period on standardised tobacco packaging by one month;
	(2)  on what date he plans to publish his post-consultation report on standardised tobacco packaging; and when he will make an announcement on his Department's decision on that matter.

Anne Milton: As announced on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 71WS, the Government has been asked to provide more time for people to respond to the consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products. The Government wants to maximise the opportunity that people have to provide their views and evidence.
	The Government has therefore extended the consultation period for an extra month. The new closing date is 10 August 2012.
	The Government has an entirely open mind on standardised packaging, and wants to know more about the possible benefits and consequences of taking action in this area.
	Any decisions to take further policy action on tobacco packaging will be taken only after full consideration is given to consultation responses, evidence and other relevant information.

CABINET OFFICE

Cancer: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people with cancer were living in the London Borough of Bexley in the last period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics. 1 have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people with cancer were living in the London Borough of Bexley in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	It is not possible to provide figures on the number of people living with cancer from cancer registration data. While the details of a cancer diagnosis are recorded and information is added to a record if a person dies, we do not record if and when a patient is considered to be cured.
	The latest available figures for cancer registrations are for the year 2010. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	There were 1,122 newly diagnosed cases of cancer in 2010 for people whose usual residence was in the London Borough of Bexley(1, 2).
	The latest published figures on incidence of cancer in England are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-registrations-in-england/2010/index.html
	(1) Cancer is coded using the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) as C00 to C97 excluding C44 non-melanoma skin cancer.
	(2) Figures are based on boundaries as of May 2012.

Charity Commission

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps people can take if they are dissatisfied with the service received from the Charity Commission.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission, so I have asked the Commission's Head of Business Services to reply.
	Letter from Nick Allaway, dated 11 July 2012
	I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on what steps people can take if they are dissatisfied with the service received from the Charity Commission.
	The Commission is committed to giving the best service we can. If someone needs to complain about a service we have provided we will ensure that their complaint is treated seriously, handled without bias or discrimination, we will also respect their confidentiality. The Charity Commission outlines its approach to how we deal with complaints about the service we have provided on our website.
	Our approach in summary, is as follows:
	Stage 1 Review—Initially, we will try to resolve a complaint within the area of the Commission the person is dealing with. The reviewer will look into the complaint and will aim to respond to the complainant within 30 working days, setting out the conclusions from their review and the reasons for the outcome.
	Stage 2 Review—If the person is unhappy with the outcome of the Stage 1 Review, they have one month in which they can ask for their complaint to be reviewed by a member of our Business Assurance Team. Depending on the nature of the complaint we may refer it to an independent reviewer. We aim to let people know the outcome of this stage within 20 days.
	Next Steps—The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman considers certain complaints about the service provided by a range of bodies, including the Commission.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Charity Commission

Simon Kirby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many cases the Charity Commission has investigated in the last five years for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's Head of Business Services to reply.
	Letter from Nick Allaway, dated 11 July 2012
	I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on how many cases the Charity Commission has investigated in the last five years for which figures are available.
	When concerns are reported to us, we assess them against our published risk framework and decide on the most appropriate action to take. When serious concerns are reported, we may open a case or, in the most serious cases, a statutory inquiry under s.46 of the Charities Act 2011.
	The number of investigations opened in each year is as follows:
	2010/11: 144
	2009/10: 180
	2008/09: 168
	2007/08: 170
	2006/07: 303
	The number of statutory inquiries opened in each year is as follows:
	2010/11: 3
	2009/10: 9
	2008/09: 19
	2007/08: 19
	2006/07: 26
	I hope this information is helpful.

Electronic Government

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance he has issued to Government Departments and non-departmental public bodies on commercial advertisements on departmental websites.

Francis Maude: Individual Departments are responsible for content published on their website.
	While no specific guidance has been issued in relation to commercial advertising on departmental websites, the standards of conduct set out in the Civil Service Code apply. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Employment: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the change was in the number of jobs in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry North East constituency in the (i) public and (ii) private sector in each of the last four quarters.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the change was in the number of jobs in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry North East constituency in the (i) public and (ii) private sector in each of the last four quarters. (116602)
	The official estimates of public and private sector jobs are compiled from Work Force Jobs (WFJ) series. However, WFJ do not produce private / public sector job statistics at any geography smaller than Regional level, so private and public sector employment has been provided from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey.
	Table 1 shows the net changes in private and public sector employment from the APS in Coventry and Coventry North East constituency between the 12 month period ending in March 2012, (the latest available period) and the period one year earlier.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Net change(1) in private and public sector employment between the 12 month period ending March 2011 and March 2012 
			 Thousand 
			  Private sector employment  Public sector employment  
			  12 months ending:  12 months ending:  
			  March 2011 1 March 2012(2) Net change March 2011 1 March 2012(2) Net change 
			 Coventry 98 *101 3 42 **34 -8 
			 Coventry North East 35 **38 3 11 ***9 -1 
			 1 Components are independently rounded. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality following. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

Government Departments: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of Government procurement spend has been through the Contracts Finder website in each month since the website's launch.

Francis Maude: Contract Finder records potential contract value not total government procurement spend.
	As part of this Government's transparency programme, Departments publish their direct spend data on a quarterly basis.

Government Departments: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many Government contracts have been published on the Contracts Finder website in each month since the website's launch;
	(2)  what proportion of Government contracts (a) by value and (b) in total have been published on the Contracts Finder website in each month since the website's launch;
	(3)  how many contracts have been placed on the Contracts Finder website since the website's launch;
	(4)  what proportion of contracts (a) by value and (b) in total listed on the Contracts Finder website have been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises since the website's launch.

Francis Maude: As part of the Government's transparency agenda we publish on the Cabinet Office website information on the number of contracts published on Contracts Finder at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/transparency-progress-reports
	Between February 2011 and June 2012 details of 9,506 contracts have been published on Contracts Finder, of which 3,116 (33%) were awarded to SMEs.

New Businesses

Esther McVey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the (a) regional, (b) social class and (c) age profile of people setting up businesses in the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what assessment has been made of the (a) regional, (b) social class and (c) age profile of people setting up businesses in the last three years.
	The requested information is available for part (a) regional only. Information for (b) social class and (c) age of profile of people setting up businesses is not available.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bus-register/business-demography/2010/index.html
	The table contains the latest statistics, which show the number of enterprise births by region from 2008 to 2010.
	
		
			 Table showing the number of enterprise births by Government office region, country and United Kingdom total for 2008 to 2010 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			 North East 7,675 6,625 5,975 
			 North West 27,465 23,920 22,705 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 18,675 17,005 16,630 
			 East Midlands 16,785 14,860 14,325 
			 West Midlands 20,585 18,245 17,805 
			 East 25,975 23,535 22,580 
			 London 57,955 50,575 52,755 
			 South East 40,365 36,320 36,910 
			 South West 20,865 17,950 17,835 
			 Wales 9,220 8,325 7,505 
			 Scotland 16,225 14,725 15,530 
			 Northern Ireland 5,655 3,945 4,590 
			     
			 United Kingdom 267,445 236,030 235,145 
			 Note: The above figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many prisoners are registered to vote.

Mark Harper: Certain prisoners, such as those held on remand, can vote while in custody and are entitled to be on the electoral register. There is no central record of how many prisoners are registered to vote.

Public Expenditure: Cabinet Office

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Francis Maude: The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast underspends in Departmental Expenditure Limits as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the COINS database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

House of Lords Reform

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the House of Lords Reform Bill, Schedule 1, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) electors and (b) elected Members in each area; and if he will estimate the average ratio of electors to elected Members (i) overall and (ii) in each district.

Mark Harper: The most recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that there were 46,107,152 registered electors in the UK on 1 December 2011. They are distributed across the 12 electoral districts defined in Schedule 1 of the House of Lords Reform Bill as follows:
	
		
			 Electoral District Number of registered electors 
			 East Midlands 3,381,552 
			 Eastern 4,315,361 
			 London 5,300,233 
			 North East 1,986,809 
			 North West 5,256,018 
			 South East 6,354,105 
			 South West 4,054,959 
			 West Midlands 4,142,089 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,862,898 
			 Scotland 3,941,592 
			 Wales 2,298,569 
			 Northern Ireland 1,212,967 
		
	
	One third of the total number of elected Members of the House of Lords (360) will be elected at each House of Lords election. The number of elected members to be returned for each electoral district at each House of Lords election is set out in Schedule 2 of the House of Lords Reform Bill.
	The ratio of electors (as of 1 December 2011) to the full complement of elected members of the Lords is 128,075:1.
	The number of electors (as of 1 December 2011) per elected member of the House of Lords for each district is as follows:
	
		
			 Electoral District Number of elected members in total Number of electors per elected member of the Lords 
			 East Midlands 27 125,243 
			 Eastern 33 130,769 
			 London 42 126,196 
			 North East 15 132,454 
			 North West 42 125,143 
			 South East 48 132,377 
			 South West 33 122,878 
			 West Midlands 33 125,518 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 30 128,763 
			 Scotland 30 131,386 
			 Wales 18 127,698 
			 Northern Ireland 9 134,774

Social Mobility: West Midlands

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase social mobility in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands.

Nicholas Clegg: Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility (April 2011) and Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility: Update on Progress since April 2011 (May 2012) set out the steps that the Government is taking to increase social mobility across the United Kingdom, including in Coventry and the West Midlands.

JUSTICE

Legal Aid Scheme

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of his Department's total procurement expenditure on small and medium-sized enterprises was spent on legal aid providers in (a) the fourth quarter of 2010-11, (b) the first quarter of 2011-12 and (c) the second quarter of 2011-12.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Period Percentage of legal aid spend with SMEs as a proportion of total procurement expenditure on SME 
			 Q1 2011-12 92 
			 Q2 2011-12 97 
		
	
	Legal aid providers have been included in the Ministry of Justice figures for procurement expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises since April 2011. Hence it is not possible to provide the proportion in quarter 4 of 2010-11 financial year.

Legal Services Ombudsman

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has any plans to review the timeframe within which complaints can be referred to the legal services ombudsman.

Jonathan Djanogly: The legal ombudsman recently conducted a consultation to review the ombudsman scheme, which included a proposal for an extension to the time limits within which a complaint may be referred to the legal ombudsman. The consultation closed on 18 June 2012. The responses received are being reviewed and the legal ombudsman's response is being prepared.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter of 28 May 2012 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Reverend J P Hamilton.

Kenneth Clarke: I have now replied.

Open Prisons

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of murder have been placed in open prisons since 2005; and how many such offenders have escaped.

Crispin Blunt: An offender serving a life sentence for murder will generally be approved for transfer to open prison only following a positive recommendation from the independent Parole Board.
	In exceptional circumstances, the Secretary of State for Justice also has the discretion to consider cases for transfer to open conditions executively where the prisoners can demonstrate exceptional progress (that is, without reference to the Parole Board).
	In either case, the assessment of the prisoner’s suitability for transfer to open prison will consider all relevant information about the prisoner's risk of harm and risk of absconding.
	Data on the number of offenders convicted of murder that have been approved for transfer and then placed in open conditions since 2005 are not held centrally in a readily accessible electronic format. Between 2004-05 and 2010-11, the most recent financial years for which data are available, the number of offenders convicted of murder who have absconded from open prisons following transfer was 89. Of these all but two have been recaptured.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Kenneth Clarke: The information is as follows:
	Ministry of Justice (excluding NOMS)
	In the Ministry of Justice (including Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian as Executive Agencies) the pay scales within the current terms and conditions of employment mean that no members of staff on these terms earn less than £7.20 per hour outside London or £8.30 per hour in London.
	The lowest hourly rate paid by the Department to any member of staff on these current terms and conditions is £7.42 nationally and £8.94 in London.
	There are six members of staff outside of London who are on legacy terms and conditions earning less than the equivalent of £7.20 per hour (FTE). The lowest hourly rate paid to any of these staff is £6.38.
	There are no London based staff on legacy terms and conditions earning less than £8.30 per hour (FTE).
	National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
	In NOMS (which operates under separate terms and conditions to those in the core Department) there are no staff based in London whose total (FTE) earnings are less than £8.20 per hour.
	There are 53 members of staff nationally whose total (FTE) earnings are less than £7.20 per hour. The lowest hourly rate payment to any of these staff is £6.81.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their economic and fiscal outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and out-turn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish out-turn data for all Departments, which are available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 out-turn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Young Offender Institutions

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions in each month of the last two years;
	(2)  how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to children in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month of the last two years;
	(3)  what the ethnicity was of each child awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions in each month of the last two years.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1(a) shows how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham, and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions (YOI) in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116200)
	Table l(b) shows how many cases for 15 to 17-year-olds were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b)Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116200)
	Table 2(a) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to young people in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Feltham, (c) Warren Hill and (d)Werrington under-18 young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116201)
	Table 2(b) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to young people aged 15 to 17 years old in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116201)
	Tables 3(a) to 3(c) show the ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in 3(a) Cookham Wood, 3(b) Warren Hill and 3(d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116202)
	These data have been provided by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) from Cookham Wood, Warren Hill and Werrington under-18 young offender institutions (YOIs).
	These figures have been drawn from YOI records; as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time.
	There have been no (zero) cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Feltham Young Offenders Institution from January 2010 to April 2012 and therefore no (zero) additional days of imprisonment awarded to children of any ethnicity.
	
		
			 Table 1(a) Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to young people by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, all young people including 18-year-olds 
			  (a) Cookham Wood (b) Warren Hill (c) Feltham (d) Werrington 
			 2010     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 24 0 0 18 
			 April 28 0 0 60 
			 May 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 28 
			 November 0 0 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 0 0 0 14 
			 February 0 0 0 64 
			 March 116 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 0 0 
			 May 42 0 0 0 
			 June 42 0 0 0 
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 49 0 0 15 
			 October 144 0 0 0 
			 November 0 28 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 0 0 0 0 
			 April 56 14 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 1(b): Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to young people by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, young people 15 to 17yearsold (18-year-olds are excluded) 
			  (a) Cookham Wood (b) Warren Hill (c) Feltham (d) Werrington 
			 2010     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 0 0 0 18 
			 April 0 0 0 60 
			 May 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 28 
			 November 0 0 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 0 0 0 14 
			 February 0 0 0 64 
			 March 56 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 0 0 
			 May 42 0 0 0 
			 June 42 0 0 0 
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 15 
			 October 0 0 0 0 
			 November 0 28 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 0 0 0 0 
			 April 0 14 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2(a): Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, all young people including 18-year-olds 
			  (a) Cookham Wood (b) Warren Hill (c) Feltham (d) Werrington 
			 2010     
			 January 1 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 1 0 0 1 
			 April 0 0 0 3 
			 May 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 1 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 2 
			 November 0 0 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 0 0 0 1 
			 February 0 0 0 4 
			 March 4 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 0 0 
			 May 3 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 1 0 0 1 
			 October 7 0 0 0 
			 November 0 1 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2 0 0 0 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 2 0 0 0 
			 April 0 2 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2(b): Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, 15 to 17-year-olds only (18-year-olds are excluded) 
			  (a) Cookham Wood (b) Warren Hill (c) Feltham (d) Werrington 
			 2010     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 0 0 0 1 
			 April 0 0 0 3 
			 May 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 1 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 0 
			 October 0 0 0 2 
			 November 0 0 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2011     
			 January 0 0 0 1 
			 February 0 0 0 4 
			 March 4 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 0 0 
			 May 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 0 0 0 0 
			 August 0 0 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 1 
			 October 0 0 0 0 
			 November 0 1 0 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			      
			 2012     
			 January 0 0 0 0 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 0 0 0 0 
			 April 0 2 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3(a): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Cookham Wood(1) 
			  b9 b1 
			 2010   
			 June 1 — 
			    
			 2011   
			 March — 1 
			 May — 1 
			 June 1 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3(b): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Warren Hill(1) 
			  b1 b9 m2 
			 November 2011 1 — — 
			 April 2012 — 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3(c): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Werrington(1) 
			  b1 w1 m1 a2 a1 
			 2010      
			 March 1 — — — — 
			 April — 1 2 — — 
			 October 2 — — — — 
			       
			 2011      
			 January — — — 1 — 
			 February 3 — — — 1 
			 September — — 1 — — 
			 (1) Please see key for ethnicity codes. 
		
	
	Ethnicity key for tables 3(a) to 3(c):
	W1: White—British
	W2: White—Irish
	W9: White—Other white
	M1: Mixed—White and Black
	Caribbean
	M2: Mixed—White and Black African
	M3: Mixed—White and Asian
	M9: Mixed—Other mixed
	A1: Asian or Asian British—Indian
	A2: Asian or Asian British—Pakistani
	A3: Asian or Asian British—Bangladeshi
	A9: Asian or Asian British—Other
	Asian
	B1: Black or Black British—Caribbean
	B2: Black or Black British—African
	B9: Black or Black British—Other
	Black
	01: Chinese—Chinese
	09: Other ethnic group—Any other

WORK AND PENSIONS

Business: Government Assistance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: On 10 May 2012, the Department for Work and Pensions published the Credit Union Feasibility Study looking at the sustainability of credit unions. It also examined what more can be done to expand them to serve many more people on lower incomes. The study has been well received by the sector and a range of stakeholders.
	We have announced that we will take forward the findings of the feasibility study. In particular, the DWP will make a further investment of up to £38 million over the next three years in credit unions and community development financial institutions involved in personal lending. This investment, which is in addition to the £13 million invested in 2011-12, will be conditional upon the credit union industry meeting a number of agreed milestones for collaboration, modernisation and expansion. Our aim will be to ensure the industry's financial sustainability by the end of the project.
	The feasibility study showed that at present even the biggest credit unions struggle to meet the operating costs of making small loans to people on lower incomes. Therefore in addition to our investment in modernisation and expansion, we plan to consult on raising the cap on the interest rate that credit unions are permitted to charge on loans, to determine whether it will help credit unions achieve financial sustainability and reach a wider range of customers.
	The Department for Work and Pensions, HM Treasury, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to work closely on all aspects of the Credit Union Expansion Project, including the formal consultation on the interest rate cap and any subsequent legislative changes.
	The Government support the right of employees to form mutuals; last year this Department facilitated around 500 staff from My Civil Service Pensions in forming a mutual.

Employment and Support Allowance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average time from receipt of appeal to the date of the first appeal hearing for employment and support allowance appeals in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.

Employment and Support Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether claimants placed in the work-related activity group are told as soon as they are assigned to this group whether the prognosis they have been given is either for (a) three, (b) six or (c) 12 months.

Chris Grayling: Where claimants are assigned to the work-related activity group following a work capability assessment they are referred for a further assessment taking account of prognosis advice from Atos Healthcare. The re-referral process and notifications normally commence in the two months before the date that a further assessment is due. Claimants are not normally notified of prognosis advice at the time of the work capability assessment.

Employment and Support Allowance

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister of State of 25 June 2012, Official Report, columns 19-20, on employment and support allowance: appeals, when the system for passing written decisions from the Tribunals Service to Jobcentre Plus will be introduced; what the process will be; whether each appeal outcome will be passed from the Tribunals Service to his Department; and what format this process will take.

Chris Grayling: From 9 July 2012, a drop-down list of common reasons for decisions has been added to decision notices from the Tribunal to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
	Under the Tribunal's Procedural Rules the Tribunal must provide each party to the proceedings with a decision notice as soon as reasonably practicable after making the decision. A decision notice is a notice “stating the Tribunal's decision”. The decision may be as succinct as “the appeal is refused”, or “the Secretary of State's decision is confirmed”. Where the appeal is allowed, the decision is usually along the lines of “the appellant is entitled to the specified benefit at a specified rate from a specified date”. The Procedure Rules require no more. It is open to either party to the appeal to request a full Statement of Reasons from the Tribunal which will set out in detail the reasons for the decision that the Tribunal has made, with particular reference to the relevant law.
	DWP and Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service have agreed an approach for providing feedback from the Tribunal to the Secretary of State on standards of decision-making. Feedback will take the format of standardised explanations from the Tribunal about why a decision of the Secretary of State has been overturned. The explanations, which will be drawn from a ‘drop-down menu’, will be incorporated into decision notices for issue by the Tribunal to each party.

Employment Schemes: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have found work via the Work programme in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Chris Grayling: Statistics on the number of people who have found employment via the Work programme are not available.

Housing Benefit

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people under the age of 25 were in receipt of housing benefit in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many people under the age of 25 and in receipt of housing benefit were in employment in the last year for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The Department regularly publishes monthly housing benefit caseloads by age group which are available from November 2008 to March 2012 on its website at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb
	The economic status of all housing benefit (HB) recipients is not available.
	Information is only available for HB recipients whose claim is not passported: that is for those who do not receive either income support, jobseekers allowance (income-based), employment and support allowance (income-based), or pension credit (guaranteed credit).
	The available information is published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish each representation he has received from the Mayor of London on the limiting of housing benefit payments.

Steve Webb: Correspondence received from the Mayor of London concerning housing benefit will be placed in the Commons Library.

Housing Benefit: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged under 26 years of age were in receipt of housing benefit in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: Information on how many people aged under 26 years of age were in receipt of housing benefit in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Lost Working Days

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of working days lost per person was in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last three years.

Chris Grayling: The following table shows the average number or working days lost per person in (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) in each of its agencies in each of the last three years:
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Jobcentre Plus 8.8 8.6 (1)— 
			 Pension, Disability and Carers Service 8.6 7.6 (1)— 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 8.5 8.1 7.3 
			 (1) Jobcentre Plus and Pension, Disability and Carers Service ceased to exist as Executive agencies from October 2011. 
		
	
	The Department reports as one organisation from October 2011.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester Declaration.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced a number of IT based systems over recent years designed to improve the efficiency of our customer facing operations and the ease by which customers and claimants can obtain information about pensions and benefits. These include the introduction of internet access devices in Jobcentre Plus offices to help engage claimants to our online services. Claimants have been able to claim job seekers allowance online since August 2010 and pensioners have been able to claim state pension online since February 2011. In addition, the online Benefit Advisor Service has provided information on benefits and tax credits since April 2008. The Information Capture Tool introduced within the Department in April 2009 has shared information between benefit systems, thus reducing the need for citizens to report a change of circumstances more than once. The Department’s telephony service has also been enhanced through new technology when the Enquiry Service was introduced from February 2010, enabling agents to handle enquiries relating to multiple benefit claims and automatically updating certain changes of circumstance across the benefit payment systems. Across the Department, there are more than 800 members of staff who hold the additional role of Digital Champion. They encourage staff to promote digital services as well as helping claimants utilise these services including applying for jobs and completing CVs.
	Of the non-departmental public bodies, the Independent Living Fund has recently introduced a secure system of electronic information exchange that has improved the speed and quality of their previous clerical system. The National Employment Savings Trust has established a web-based system that allows members and employers to communicate directly with them, for example to enrol new members. The Pensions Regulator has improved their website so that all information obligations required by them can be submitted online, including levy collection via card payment. The Pensions Advisory Service has introduced self service products on their website which include calculators and the facility to communicate by email and webform. The Pensions Ombudsman does not currently exchange information electronically but expects to introduce a web based system in October 2012.
	Of the agencies, the Health and Safety Executive operates a website that provides information as well as online tools and services for employers, employees and the general public. Improvements to the functionality of the website are ongoing and now include the facility for the notifying reportable accidents. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission publishes all key information regarding child maintenance on its website. New IT has been developed for introduction later this year that will improve the service to clients along with an innovative web based application specifically aimed at helping hard to reach and traditionally disengaged clients seek online support.
	With regards to the improvement of procurement processes, the Department has been given approval to implement an end to end e-Procurement solution by the Cabinet Office in July 2011. This solution is now about 80% implemented and is being used for tender based sourcing activity. It includes the facility for e-auctions, which will be used going forward. Comprehensive spend analysis data extracted from the purchasing system provide detailed management information and meet the requirements of the Government Procurement Service. Documentation of all procurements valued at over £10,000 is stored electronically for public viewing as part of the Governments transparency commitment.
	Improvements in the area of identity assurance include work ongoing to draft EU regulations relating to identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market. This will allow e-identities issued by one member state to be acceptable in another member state. The Department is working to ensure that such systems will be sufficiently robust to prevent identity theft and the misuse of information. Regulations are expected to be laid in 18 months’ time.

Remploy

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many expressions of interest have been submitted for the Remploy factory sites proposed for closure; and for which sites.

Maria Miller: The Remploy Board has considered in excess of 60 expressions of interest to take Remploy businesses/factories out of government control as part of the commercial process. Due to commercial sensitivities I am unable to reveal specific sites that these expressions of interest relate to.

Social Fund

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much will be transferred to local authorities after the abolition of community care grants and crisis loans.

Steve Webb: For the current spending review period the Department for Work and Pensions has been allocated £178 million per annum for the discretionary Social Fund for Great Britain. This funding will form the programme funding for the new local services that will be in place from April 2013. It will be apportioned nationally between Scotland, England and Wales. In addition, the Department will transfer funding for the administration of the new local services so that all of the £178 million is spent on vulnerable people.
	The Department is basing its allocations on the equivalent Social Fund spend for 2012-13. Spend on the Crisis Loan element of the discretionary Social Fund is being managed down to 2005-06 levels, and on the current profile we will reduce expenditure to this level by end 2012/13.
	The Department is currently undertaking the financial modelling to finalise the amounts to be allocated to each upper tier English local authority and the devolved Administrations and the indicative amount will be outlined in a Settlement letter which is due to be sent out shortly. The amount to be transferred will be fixed for the next two years of the comprehensive spending review.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he plans to implement his household benefit cap policy for families not receiving universal credit for which a reduction in housing benefit does not take them below the annual limit.

Steve Webb: The majority of households who currently receive benefits in excess of the cap level will be in receipt of housing benefit and they will have the cap applied from April 2013 via housing benefit. We are aware that there may be a small number of households who will continue to receive benefits over the cap level until their claims migrate to universal credit.

Social Security Benefits: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency were in receipt of benefits amounting to more than those allowable under the benefit cap for which provision is made in the Welfare Reform Act 2012, excluding households which are exempted, in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The information is not available for Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration his Department has given to requiring all medical assessments to be recorded so that they can be referred to at any appeal stage.

Chris Grayling: Based on the results of a trial during 2011, we have not implemented universal recording for claimants going through the work capability assessment (WCA). We have asked Atos Healthcare to accommodate requests for audio recording, where a claimant makes a request in advance of their assessment. This approach began in late 2011 and we will monitor take up during 2012 before making a decision on the requirement for recording assessments, taking into account factors such as value for money and the value it adds to the WCA process. As part of this process we are also reviewing Atos capacity to provide recordings for those claimants who currently request one.

Unemployment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 16 to 24 year olds have been unemployed for more than 12 months in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) west midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: Figures on the number of 16 to 24-year-olds claiming jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more are shown in the following table. Direct comparisons over this period are likely to be misleading because until last year many young people participating in Government programmes were excluded from the jobseeker's allowance statistics.
	
		
			 Aged 16-24 claiming jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more 
			  May 2008 May 2009 May 2010 May 2011 May 2012 
			 Coventry 45 15 240 115 405 
			 Coventry North East 15 5 100 45 180 
			 West midlands 1,200 1,215 5,050 2,600 8,105 
			 England 4,840 5,640 22,350 12,605 52,195 
		
	
	Under those policies young people were required to move off jobseeker's allowance before they reached 12 months, either to a training allowance or temporary job. Those who later came back to JSA were counted as newly unemployed and this had the effect of holding the number of long duration claims at a much lower level than would have been the case given natural off-flow rates.
	Now individuals taking up work experience opportunities or entering the Work programme remain on JSA until they find a regular job. As their claim is not broken artificially, more young people are staying on JSA and moving into longer durations and the number claiming for 12 months or more is rising. In reality, however, the figures are more closely reflecting the true level of long-term unemployment. Taking account of the changes in the way people are counted, nationally the number of 18 to 24-year-olds either on JSA or another form of temporary support is slightly lower now than it was two years ago. Within this there has been a rise in the number on JSA for 12 months or more, as people are no longer moved off benefit automatically. But this has been more than offset by: a fall in the number of short-duration JSA claims, as fewer people are being re-cycled back onto the claimant count; and a fall in the number of people recorded separately because they are on a training allowance or in a temporary job.

Universal Credit: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the benefits changes under universal credit on levels of child poverty in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) London.

Chris Grayling: Universal credit will reduce the number of individuals in poverty. On reasonable assumptions, the combined impact of take-up and entitlements will lift around 50,000 children out of poverty in (c) London.
	The information requested in (a) and (b) is not available as sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for these areas.
	The impact assessment states that in Great Britain universal credit will lift around 900,000 individuals out of poverty, including more than 350,000 children and around 550,000 working-age adults.
	These poverty impacts exclude the positive impacts of more people moving into work.

Work Capability Assessment

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of appointments for claimants' examinations for employment and support allowance have been cancelled by Atos because of unavailability of staff in (a) Wrexham, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare retains records of appointments where a customer attended but could not be seen on the day, because a healthcare professional was not available for their appointment.
	The latest period for which figures are available is April 2012.
	During April 2012 the number cancelled for the above reason was:
	Wrexham—none
	Wales—0.3% (16 appointments)
	Nationally—0.5% (369 appointments)

Work Capability Assessment

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been waiting for a work capability assessment by home visit for (a) less than one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to six months and (d) more than six months by region.

Chris Grayling: The numbers of people who have been waiting for work capability assessments by home visit for (a) less than one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to six months and (d) more than six months by region are shown in the following table. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		
			 Count of NiNo Description 
			 Name Sub Cat 3 (a) (b) (c) (d) Grand total 
			 Central England Initial 60 40 20 — 120 
			  Re-Referral 90 160 20 — 270 
			 Central England total  150 200 40 — 390 
			        
			 London and Home Counties Initial 30 100 60 10 200 
			  Re-Referral 70 180 90 20 360 
			 London and Home Counties total  110 270 150 30 560 
			        
			 North East Initial 50 90 90 — 230 
			  Re-Referral 80 180 130 20 410 
			 North East total  130 270 210 30 640 
			        
			 North West Initial 40 — — — 40 
			  Re-Referral 60 10 0 0 70 
			 North West total  100 10 0 0 110 
			        
			 Scotland Initial .30 60 30 10 130 
			  Re-Referral 90 140 40 20 290 
			 Scotland total  120 200 70 30 420 
			        
			 South England Initial 40 80 80 100 300 
			  Re-Referral 100 140 120 200 560 
			 South England total  140 220 200 300 860 
			        
			 Wales Initial 20 20 20 — 60 
			  Re-Referral 30 40 30 — 100 
			 Wales total  50 60 50 — 160 
			        
			 Grand total  1,590 2,470 1,450 770 6,280 
			 Sub Cat 1 (All) Ref Type (All)

Work Programme

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) West Midlands and (d) England have secured employment through the Work Programme to date; and what the average length of time of that employment has been.

Chris Grayling: Statistics on how many people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) West Midlands and (d) England have secured employment through the Work Programme to date; and what the average length of time of that employment was are not available.
	The Department aims to publish official statistics on Work Programme job outcomes in autumn 2012.

Working Tax Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average family claim for childcare tax credits was for families with children of each age in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	This information is not available because families make a single claim for child care, rather than claiming for each individual child.

Working Tax Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families with a (a) two, (b) three and (c) four year old child receive both childcare tax credits and a free entitlement to 15 hours a week childcare.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	This information is not available as HMRC does not administer the child care scheme.

EDUCATION

E-mail

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what correspondence (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Information Commissioner's Office on his Department's use of private e-mail accounts for conducting official Government business; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such correspondence within the last 12 months.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 27 June 2012
	In December 2011 the Department received a report from the Information Commissioner on the findings of its good practice visit in October 2011, which included consideration of the use of personal e-mail and the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner published those findings on 15 December 2011.
	The Information Commissioner and his staff regularly exchange correspondence with departmental officials in the course of relevant Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act casework.

Freedom of Information: Requests

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received between 10 May 2010 and February 2011; how many requests (a) were answered within 20 working days, (b) were answered in between 20 and 40 working days, (c) were answered in between 40 and 60 working days, (d) were answered in between 60 and 80 working days, (e) were answered in between 80 and 100 working days, (f) were answered after 100 working days; and (g) remained unanswered after more than 100 working days.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 27 June 2012
	Quarterly and annual statistics on Freedom of Information requests received by a number of central Government monitored bodies (including all Departments of State) are published by the Ministry of Justice on their website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation/implementation-editions
	The Department is asked to collate these statistics to provide a picture of FOI performance across central Government Departments.

Freedom of Information: Requests

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report column 370W, on the Freedom of Information Act 2000, what meetings he had with representatives of the Information Commissioner's Office to discuss his Department's compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the last 12 months.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 27 June 2012
	None.

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) pupils receiving free school meals, (b) pupils not receiving free school meals and (c) all pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 were not entered for any GCSE in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: Figures for the years 2005/06 to 2010/11 on the number and percentage of pupils who achieved no qualifications at the end of Key Stage 4 by their free school meal eligibility can be found in the following table. In most cases this is based upon data on entries to qualifications, however for some vocational courses we only hold data on achievements, not entries. The Department holds data on eligibility for free school meals; information on whether or not a pupil is actually receiving free school meals once eligible is not available centrally. Figures for the years 2001/02 to 2004/05 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data have only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils who have achieved no qualifications(1) at the end of Key Stage 4(2) by free school meal (FSM) eligibility. Years: 2005/06 to 2010/11(3). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			  Pupils eligible for FSM All other pupils(4) All pupils 
			  Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent Percentage not achieving a GCSEor equivalent Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent Percentage not achieving a GCSE or equivalent Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent Percentage not achieving a GCSEor equivalent 
			 2005/06 3,363 4.3 8,311 1.6 11,674 2.0 
			 2006/07 2,821 3.7 7,189 1.4 10,010 1.7 
			 2007/08 2,235 3.0 5,870 1.1 8,105 1.4 
			 2008/09 1,835 2.5 4,474 0.9 6,309 1.1 
			 2009/10 1,401 1.8 3,505 0.7 4,906 0.8 
			 2010/11 1,212 1.5 2,594 0.5 3,806 0.7 
			 (1) In some cases only pupils who have achieved vocational qualifications are included in our data rather than those entered for the qualification. For GCSEs, all pupils who are entered are included. (2) Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in each academic year. (3) Figures for 2005/06 to 2010/11 are based on final data. (4) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. Source: National Pupil Database

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) receiving and (b) not receiving free school meals achieved five A*-C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE (i) including and (ii) excluding equivalents in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The information requested by free school meal eligibility (eligible for and claiming free school meals) is provided in the following table. Information on whether or not a pupil is receiving free school meals is not available. Figures for the years 2001/02 to 2004/05 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data have only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4(1) achieving five or more A*- C grades including and excluding equivalent qualifications including English and mathematics GCSEs, by free school meal (FSM) eligibility. Years: 2005/06 to 2010/11(2). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			 Including equivalents 
			  Pupils eligible for FSM All other pupils(3) All pupils 
			  No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs 
			 2005/06 15,320 19.6 246,016 47.7 261,336 44.0 
			 2006/07 16,385 21.4 258,438 49.3 274,823 45.8 
			 2007/08 17,814 23.8 270,344 51.7 288,158 48.2 
			 2008/09 19,778 26.6 273,665 54.3 293,443 50.7 
			 2009/10 24,150 31.2 294,587 58.8 318,737 55.1 
			 2010/11 27,383 34.6 302,356 62.0 329,739 58.2 
			  
		
	
	
		
			 Excluding equivalents(4,5) 
			  Pupils eligible for FSM All other pupils(3) All pupils 
			  No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs 
			 2005/06 14,372 18.4 239,797 46.5 254,169 42.8 
			 2006/07 14,962 19.5 249,120 47.5 264,082 44.0 
			 2007/08 15,994 21.4 259,861 49.7 275,855 46.1 
			 2008/09 17,246 23.2 259,587 51.5 276,833 47.8 
			 2009/10 19,630 25.4 271,297 54.2 290,927 50.3 
			 2010/11 21,619 27.3 275,216 56.4 296,835 52.4 
			 (1) Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in each academic year. (2) Figures for 2005/06 to 2010/11 are based on final data. (3) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. (4) Figures for 2010/11 include AS levels, full and short GCSEs, double award GCSEs, applied GCSEs and the accredited iGCSEs and their legacy qualifications. (5) Figures for 2005/06 to 2009/10 include only full GCSEs, double awards and accredited iGCSEs and their legacy qualifications. Source: National Pupil Database

GCSE

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils obtained a GCSE Grade D or below in (a) English and (b) mathematics in (i) England and (ii) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in the most recent academic year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Numbers and percentages of pupils(1,2,3) at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving grade D or below(4) in English and mathematics GCSEs(5,6) in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency(7), the North West region(8) and England(9)—2010/11 
			  Number/% 
			 English  
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys (No.) 309 
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys (%) 32.1 
			   
		
	
	
		
			 North West (No.) 21,243 
			 North West (%) 26.7 
			   
			 England (No.) 152,062 
			 England (%) 26.9 
			   
			 Mathematics  
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys (No.) 425 
			 Blackpool North and Cleveleys (%) 44.1 
			   
			 North West (No.) 25,407 
			 North West (%) 31.9 
			   
			 England (No.) 175,303 
			 England (%) 31.0 
			 (1) Percentages are based on all pupils at end of Key Stage 4 in each area. (2) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Figures include all maintained schools (including CTCs and academies). (4) Includes grades D-G. (5) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) Full GCSEs have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs) and AS levels. (7) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (8) Regional figures are based on the region of the local authority maintaining the school, or in the case of CTCs and academies, the local authority in which the school is situated. (9) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: National Pupil Database.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester Declaration.

Tim Loughton: The Department has worked with agencies and local authority partners to develop services that support the principles set out on the Manchester declaration. In particular the Free School Meals Eligibility Checking Service and systems for applying online for School Admissions have been built around meeting the needs of parents, including the most vulnerable, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of online Government services. The Department has also developed systems that enable secure and trusted online access to education services and contributed to leadership of this approach across Government.

Parliamentary Private Secretaries: Visits Abroad

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on which occasions his parliamentary private secretary has travelled overseas with him or on his behalf since May 2010.

Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not travelled overseas on Government business with his parliamentary private secretary, and nor has his parliamentary private secretary travelled overseas on his behalf since May 2010.

Departmental Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour.

Tim Loughton: The lowest salary bands in the Department for Education are equivalent to an hourly rate of £8.06 outside London and £11.29 in London. No staff currently earn less than £7.20 per hour outside London, or less than £8.30 per hour in London.

Departmental Pay

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many staff of his Department were in the Civil Service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Tim Loughton: On 30 June 2012, the Department for Education had 55 staff in the redeployment pool, out of a total headcount of 3,993. Of the 55, eight had been in the redeployment pool for over six months.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department plans to publish the outcomes and proposals from its review of personal, social, health and economic education, including sex and relationship education.

Nick Gibb: We expect to publish the outcomes and proposals from our review of personal social health and economic (PSHE) education later this year.

Primary Education: Assessments

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of pupils (a) receiving and (b) not receiving free school meals achieved the expected level in reading, writing and arithmetic at the end of key stage (i) 1 and (ii) 2 in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of (a) pupils receiving free-school meals, (b) pupils not receiving free school meals and (c) all pupils at the end of key stage 2 left primary school without meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The information requested for the years 2005/06 to 2010/11 by free school meal eligibility (eligible for and claiming free school meals) is provided in the following tables. Information on whether or not a pupil is receiving free schools meals is not available.
	Figures for the years 2001/02 to 2004/05 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data have only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
	Key stage 1
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils achieving the expected level (level 2 or above) in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1, by free school meal eligibility. Years: 2005/06 to 2010/11 (final data). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			  Pupils eligible for free school meals All other pupils(1) All pupils 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 2005/06 58,437 61 381,896 82 440,333 79 
			 2006/07 56,297 60 367,478 81 423,775 78 
			 2007/08 54,388 60 360,645 81 415,033 77 
			 2008/09 57,129 62 358,940 82 416,069 78 
			 2009/10 65,091 63 367,678 82 432,769 78 
			 2010/11 70,474 64 379,024 83 449,498 79 
			 (1 )Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals and for whom free school meal eligibility is unclassified or could not be determined. Source: National Pupil Database (final data) 
		
	
	Key stage 2
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils achieving the expected level (level 4 or above) in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, by free school meal eligibility. Years: 2005/06-2010/11 (final data). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			  Pupils eligible for free school meals All other pupils(1) All pupils 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 2005/06 35,836 38 304,839 63 340,675 59 
			 2006/07 36,019 39 304,962 64 340,981 60 
			 2007/08 39,033 42 319,515 66 358,548 62 
			 2008/09 38,473 42 309,572 65 348,045 61 
			 2009/10(2) 30,420 45 233,291 68 263,711 65 
			 2010/11 49,097 49 317,027 71 366,124 67 
			 (1) Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals and for whom free school meal eligibility is unclassified or could not be determined. (2) Comparisons with 2009/10 are likely to be affected by the single level test pilot and by industrial action. Source: National Pupil Database (final data) 
		
	
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils not achieving the expected level (level 4 or above) in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2, by free school meal eligibility. Years: 2005/06-2010/11 (final data). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			  Pupils eligible for free school meals All other pupils(1) All pupils 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 2005/06 59,269 62 176,442 37 235,711 41 
			 2006/07 56,877 61 172,392 36 229,269 40 
			 2007/08 54,760 58 167,365 34 222,125 38 
			 2008/09 54,184 58 164,830 35 219,014 39 
			 2009/10(2) 36,772 55 108,184 32 144,956 35 
			 2010/11 51,010 51 129,721 29 180,731 33 
			 (1) Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals and for whom free school meal eligibility is unclassified or could not be determined. (2) Comparisons with 2009/10 are likely to be affected by the single level test pilot and by industrial action. Source: National Pupil Database (final data)

Schools: Catering

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many dinner ladies were employed in schools in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table provides the headcount number of support staff employed by publicly funded schools in the role of cook or catering assistant in November 2010 and 2011 broken down by gender. No information on the number of catering staff in schools was collected by the Department prior to November 2010.
	
		
			 Headcount number of cooks and catering assistants in service in publicly funded schools. November 2010 and 2011. England 
			  Male Female Total 
			 2010 1,150 44,200 45,370 
			 2011 1,180 38,840 40,040 
			 Notes: 1. Excludes staff employed in the school through a third party or agency or on a contract of less than 28 days duration. 2. Total includes staff whose gender was unknown or unspecified. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Workforce Census

Special Educational Needs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children (a) statemented for special educational needs, (b) in the School Action category and (c) in the School Action Plus category were given a (i) fixed period exclusion and (ii) permanent exclusion in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The available information, on the number and percentage of pupils with special educational needs receiving a permanent or fixed period exclusion, is shown in the table. This includes data on permanent exclusions from 1997/98 to 2009/10 and on fixed period exclusions from 2007/08 to 2009/10. To provide further data would incur disproportionate cost.
	The latest data on exclusions were published in the “Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2009/10” Statistical First Release on 28 July 2011 at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001016/index.shtml
	Data for 2010/11 will be published in the “Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2010/11” Statistical First Release on 25 July 2012 at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001080/index.shtml
	
		
			 Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1,2,3); number of permanent exclusions and number of pupil enrolments receiving one or more fixed period exclusions, by special educational needs (SEN)(4), England, 1997/98 to 2009/10 
			   Permanent exclusions(5) Fixed period exclusions(6) 
			   No. of exclusions % of school population(7) No. of pupil enrolments % of school population(8) 
			 1997/98 Pupils with SEN with statements 2,250 0.96 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils without statements of SEN 10,050 0.01 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 12,300 0.16 n/a n/a 
			       
			 1998/99 Pupils with SEN with statements 1,920 0.78 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils without statements of SEN 8,510 0.11 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 10,440 0.14 n/a n/a 
			       
			 1999/2000 Pupils with SEN with statements 1,490 0.61 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils without statements of SEN 6,830 0.09 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 8,320 0.11 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2000/01 Pupils with SEN with statements 810 0.33 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils without statements of SEN(9) 8,350 0.11 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 9,160 0.12 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2001/02 Pupils with SEN with statements 1,140 0.49 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 4,710 0.35 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 3,740 0.06 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 9,590 0.12 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2002/03 Pupils with SEN with statements 1,030 0.43 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 5,180 0.46 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 3,140 0.05 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 9,340 0.12 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2003/04 Pupils with SEN with statements 1,050 0.44 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 5,300 0.46 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 3,650 0.06 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 9,990 0.13 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2004/05 Pupils with SEN with statements 860 0.37 n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 4,680 0.40 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 4,030 0.06 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils(10) 9,570 0.13 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2005/06 Pupils with SEN with statements 900 0.39 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 5,360 0.44 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 3,070 0.05 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils(10) 9,330 0.12 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2006/07 Pupils with SEN with statements 780 0.36 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils at School Action Plus 3,570 0.86 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils at School Action 1,750 0.20 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 5,320 0.42 n/a n/a 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 2,560 0.04 n/a n/a 
			  All pupils 8,680 0.12 n/a n/a 
			       
			 2007/08 Pupils with SEN with statements 700 0.33 17,970 8.42 
			  Pupils at School Action Plus 3,460 0.78 50,450 11.41 
			  Pupils at School Action 1,620 0.18 45,840 5.18 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 5,080 0.38 96,290 7.26 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 2,350 0.04 90,630 1.53 
			  All pupils 8,130 0.11 204,890 2.74 
			       
			 2008/09 Pupils with SEN with statements 510 0.24 17,070 8.10 
			  Pupils at School Action Plus 2,870 0.62 51,210 10.96 
			  Pupils at School Action 1,300 0.14 44,060 4.89 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 4,170 0.30 95,270 6.96 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 1,860 0.03 82,360 1.41 
			  All pupils(10) 6,550 0.09 194,700 2.62 
			       
			 2009/10 Pupils with SEN with statements 420 0.20 15,910 7.60 
			  Pupils at School Action Plus 2,660 0.55 48,990 10.06 
			  Pupils at School Action 1,180 0.13 40,580 4.45 
			  Pupils with SEN without statements(9) 3,840 0.27 89,570 6.40 
			  Pupils with no SEN(9) 1,470 0.03 74,280 1.27 
			  All pupils(10) 5,740 0.08 179,760 2.42 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) SEN is recorded at the time of exclusion. (5) Figures relating to permanent exclusions are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (6) Pupils may be counted more than once, if they moved schools during the year, or are registered at more than one school. (7) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) with the same SEN stage in January each year. (8) The number of pupil enrolments receiving one or more fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) with the same SEN stage in January each year. (9) The introduction of the new SEN Code of Practice means that the number of children with SEN without statements reported for the 2000/01 school year and later are not directly comparable with earlier years. Includes pupils with no SEN and pupils with SEN without statements. (10) Totals include a small number of pupils for whom stage of SEN was not known. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census

Special Educational Needs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children (a) statemented for special educational needs, (b) in the School Action category and (c) in the School Action Plus category were recorded with unauthorised absence from school in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The level of detail needed for such analysis has been collected from secondary schools since 2005/06, and from primary and special schools since 2006/07.
	The number and percentage of pupil enrolments with a special educational needs statement, in the School Action category and in the School Action Plus category with at least one half day session of unauthorised absence for academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 are shown in the following table.
	The latest available information on absence is published in SFR 04/2012 ‘Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2010/11' at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001060/index.shtml
	
		
			 State-funded primary, secondary and special schools(1, 2): Number and percentage of enrolments(3) with at least one half day session of unauthorised absence by special educational needs. 2006/07 to 2010/11. In England 
			  School Action School Action Plus 
			  Number of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments Percentage of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments Percentage of enrolments with unauthorised absence 
			 2006/07 288,070 823,975 35.0 152,110 394,605 38.5 
			 2007/08 302,955 846,665 35.8 166,440 421.985 39.4 
			 2008/09 340,845 877,020 38.9 194,295 457,970 42.4 
			 2009/10 351,130 884,260 39.7 204,755 475,510 43.1 
			 2010/11 341,135 853,165 40.0 201,530 470,315 42.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Statements of SEN All pupils 
			  Number of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments Percentage of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments with unauthorised absence Number of enrolments Percentage of enrolments with unauthorised absence 
			 2006/07 62,425 198,800 31.4 1,706,330 6,582,425 25.9 
			 2007/08 60,490 192,745 31.4 1,713,685 6,478,155 26.5 
			 2008/09 63,885 194,085 32.9 1,862,545 6,408,545 29.1 
			 2009/10 63,505 192,180 33.0 1,896,630 6,387.685 29.7 
			 2010/11 63,530 192,000 33.1 1,908,010 6,382,835 29.9 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Number of pupil enrolments in schools. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between 5 and 15, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered in more than one school). (4) Includes pupil enrolments for whom special educational needs information was unclassified or missing. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census

Stakeholder Advocacy Group

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons his Department's stakeholder advocacy group was shut down; and on what date it ceased work.

Tim Loughton: The Department's stakeholder and advocacy team was shut down and ceased work on 11 January 2012.
	The decision to discontinue this team was part of a wider programme of change within the Department, and to reduce the size of the communications group. As a result, the headcount of the communications group has reduced from 110 to 48.

Stakeholder Advocacy Group

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on its stakeholder advocacy group; and how much it spent on re-organising its communications department at the inception and subsequent abolition of that group.

Tim Loughton: The Department incurred no direct costs in establishing the stakeholder and advocacy team, as it was created through internal moves within the communications group.
	The team consisted of four members of staff. Their combined salary cost for the period 11 April-11 January was £163,380.
	The Department incurred no direct costs on re-organising the communications group at the inception and subsequent abolition of that team.

Teachers: Allowances

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of teachers received each of the allowances they were eligible to receive in addition to their basic salary in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) teachers and (b) supply teachers were suspended from schools as a result of allegations by pupils in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect comprehensive data on allegations against teachers. In 2011 the Department commissioned research into the scale and nature of allegations of abuse made against schoolteachers, non-teaching staff in schools and further education (FE) teachers.
	The research identified 2,556 allegations of abuse against teachers (including supply teachers) of whom 459 (18%) were suspended while the allegation of abuse was being investigated.

Teachers: Training

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department allocated to postgraduate professional development for teachers in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: We do not prescribe how much of a school's budget should be used for teachers' professional development. Decisions relating to teachers' professional development rightly rest with schools, individual teachers and heads as they are in the best position to make judgments about relative spending priorities and requirements.
	The “Annual Report and Financial Statements 2011-12” of the Training and Development Agency for Schools shows expenditure of £13,802,000 for candidates already undertaking courses as part of the postgraduate professional development programme and £6,285,000 similarly towards the Masters in Teaching and Learning programme.
	Following the launch of the National Scholarship Fund for Teachers, £603,000 was spent in 2011-12 supporting successful applicants from the first round.

Teachers: Working Hours

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether full-time contracts at maintained schools and sixth form colleges still require teachers to work a minimum of 195 days and 1,265 hours a year;
	(2)  whether full-time contracts at academies, free schools and university technical colleges require teachers to work a minimum of 195 days and 1,265 hours a year.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 July 2012
	The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) sets out the terms and conditions of teachers who work in maintained schools. The STPCD requires teachers employed on full-time contracts to be available for work for up to 195 days and for 1,265 hours per year (194 days and 1,258.5 hours in 2011/12 due to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee). In addition to those contractual hours, the STPCD requires that teachers must also work additional hours that are considered necessary to enable them to carry out their professional duties.
	Free schools, academies, sixth form colleges and university technical colleges are not bound by the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document. The days and hours that teachers are required to work in these establishments are, therefore, subject to the terms and conditions of individual contracts of employment.

Young People: West Midlands

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training in (a) Bromsgrove constituency and (b) the West Midlands.

Tim Loughton: We set out in “Building Engagement; Building Futures” our strategy to increase participation and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training. This document is available at:
	http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/building% 20engagement%20building%20futures.pdf
	We are committed to raising the age of compulsory participation in education and training to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 and are spending a record £7.5 billion on education and training places for young people this year.
	Vulnerable young people often require additional help to participate and we are spending £126 million over the next three years to provide a new programme of support for the hardest to help 16 and 17-year-olds as part of the Youth Contract. This will support 55,000 young people into education and training and provision will be in place in September. For the West Midlands region, we have set an indicative contract amount of £14,488,508 over the course of the programme. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	Local authorities have a statutory duty to support young people's participation in education and training. Data on the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training by local authority at the end of 2011 are available at:
	http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/2/2011%20local %20authority%20neet%20figures.xls
	We want to ensure that young people leave school or college with the qualifications and attributes that employers want. We have recently set out the principles that will underpin post-16 study programmes to give every 16 to 19-year-old the opportunity to undertake a high quality education that enables progress on to work or further study.
	These will include a large size qualification, English and maths for those students without a grade C or better in GCSE and, where appropriate, valuable, relevant work experience. Further information is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/a00210755/16-19-study-programmes

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A Year of Service Project

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the names are of the members of the steering group overseeing the project A Year of Service; and what criteria were used to appoint them;
	(2)  how many meetings the steering group for the project A Year of Service has held since it was established;
	(3)  if he will publish the minutes of the meetings held by the steering group for the project A Year of Service.

Andrew Stunell: A steering group, comprised of the organisations named below, was formed by DCLG to advise collectively on aspects of the development of A Year of Service.
	Business in the Community
	The Church of England
	The Coexist Foundation
	The Faith-based Regeneration Network
	The Inter Faith Network for the UK
	The Mitzvah Day Charitable Trust
	The names of individual members of the steering group are not provided as disclosure of this information is likely to breach one or more principles in the Data Protection Act 1998. Organisations were invited to join the steering group because their involvement was seen as important to the project's success. As at 12 July 2012, the steering group had met seven times.
	Formal minutes of steering group meetings are not produced; however summary notes are kept and arrangements will be made to place copies of these in the Library of the House.
	In addition, a reference group allows the faith communities involved to share best practice and promote the programme within their respective communities.

A Year of Service Project

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish the minutes of each meeting he has had to discuss the project A Year of Service.

Andrew Stunell: As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of internal ministerial meetings.

Building Regulations: Electrical Safety

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the level of improvement in the standard of electrical work in homes since 2005; and how this assessment will be taken into account when taking any decision on whether to retain Part P of the building regulations.

Andrew Stunell: The Department recently consulted on proposals to amend Part P of the Building Regulations (Electrical safety in dwellings). We published a consultation stage impact assessment on 31 January which considered the costs and benefits of Part P since its introduction in 2005, including Part P's impact on the quality of electrical installation work. The consultation document asked consultees for their views on the matter, and we will use the feedback in developing the final impact assessment.

Business

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: My Department has recently launched a £30.5 million support programme to help eligible community organisations and social enterprises to take advantage of the Community Right to Challenge and to take on the community ownership and management of assets. £17.5 million of support is also available to those looking to take advantage of the Community Right to Build. These programmes will provide advice, guidance and funding to a range of organisations, some of which may be co-operatives, financial mutuals, employee-owned businesses or credit unions. In order to apply for funding, organisations will need to meet the eligibility criteria for the individual grant schemes.
	My Department is also working with Co-operatives UK to establish a Community Shares Unit that will support a range of organisations including co-operatives, mutuals and social enterprises to enable the growth of the community shares market as a means of unlocking investment for community projects. We will announce further information about this scheme shortly.
	We have also temporarily doubled small business rate relief and given local authorities powers to fund business rates discounts as they see fit.
	With the Homes and Communities Agency, we are working with the Confederation of Co-operative Housing and the wider community led sector on their proposal to establish a private investment fund to support the development of homes. In addition, the Homes and Communities Agency has set aside a portion of the Affordable Homes Programme to enable community led organisations to bid for funds to develop affordable housing.
	On 10 July, as part of the £30 million Empty Homes Community Fund, I announced that £25.1 million would go to 74 community and voluntary organisations to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing. A further 20 of these organisations are undergoing due diligence checks to ensure that a further £4.9 million is used for community groups.

Homelessness: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) families and (b) single people presented themselves as homeless in each London borough in each month since April 2011.

Grant Shapps: The total numbers of decisions about households presenting as homeless (i.e. those applying for assistance under the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts) made by each local authority in England during 2011-12 are shown in the Department for Communities and Local Government Live Table 784.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/2102106.xls
	These total decisions comprise: (i) all eligible households found to be in priority need and unintentionally homeless (acceptances); (ii) those in priority need but intentionally homeless; (iii) those not in priority need and (iv) those found to be not homeless.
	Information on the types of households, including single people, accepted in priority need is published at the England level in Live Table 780.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/2102093.xls
	We secured an additional £70 million last year to help local agencies prevent and tackle homelessness. This includes a £20 million Single Homelessness Prevention Fund to help ensure single homeless people get access to good housing advice. This is on top of the existing £10 million to help single people access private rented sector accommodation and £400 million we are investing for homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15).

Housing: Regeneration

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether the estimate of the March 2011 report of the Audit Commission entitled Housing Market Renewal: housing, programme review, that the pathfinder housing market renewal programme attracted private investment to complete over 15,000 new homes was based on information provided by his Department;
	(2)  whether the estimate of the March 2011 report of the Audit Commission entitled Housing Market Renewal: housing, programme review, that the Pathfinder housing market renewal programme had refurbished more than 108,000 existing homes was based on information provided by his Department.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 10 July 2012
	I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 25 June 2012, Official Report, columns 10-11W, which outlines the damaging obsession with demolition under the last Administration's Pathfinder scheme, and the role of central Government in promoting demolition targets.
	The figures in the Audit Commission reports were provided by local authority pathfinders. I would also note the National Audit Office's estimate that there were plans for a total of 57,100 properties to be demolished.
	This Government has cancelled the Pathfinders programme and is instead actively seeking to get empty homes back into productive use.

Mitzvah Day UK

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many meetings he has had with Mitzvah Day UK.

Andrew Stunell: On various occasions the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), and I have participated in engagements at which staff of the Mitzvah Day Charitable Trust were present.
	My Department has facilitated seven meetings of the Steering Group and 10 meetings of the Reference Group in relation to A Year of Service, and the Mitzvah Day Charitable Trust has attended each of these meetings. There has additionally been regular contact between my Department and the Mitzvah Day Charitable Trust in implementing the programme.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes had been bought under the (a) NewBuy and (b) FirstBuy schemes as at 5 July 2012.

Grant Shapps: Quality assured data on the total number of completions under the industry-led NewBuy Guarantee scheme are not yet available to Government. The Government expect to receive and make this information available from September 2012.
	The purchase of a newly built home is normally completed up to six months after reservation; as of 5 July, the NewBuy Guarantee scheme was under four months old.
	The FirstBuy scheme, introduced by this Government, will help around 10,500 first time buyers by March 2013. Homes have been available for sale since September 2011.
	Official statistics published by the Homes and Communities Agency on 12 June show that there were 2,994 sales to the end of March 2012, illustrating how the scheme is on course and on target.
	Housebuilders have found significant interest from first time buyers, reporting so far over 7,000 reservations by eligible applicants.

Private Rented Housing

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration his Department has given to applying the decent homes standard to English private rented sector housing; and if he will assess the practicality of adopting this approach as a means of raising standards in the sector.

Andrew Stunell: Local authorities have powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to assess the risks and hazards in all residential properties using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action. This could range from trying to deal with the problems informally at first to prohibiting the use of the whole or part of the dwelling. This system provides an important safety net, ensuring that homes are safe and decent.
	Local authorities also have powers to establish a local licensing system for certain rented properties and to set appropriate standards. We believe this is a proportionate framework, and have no plans to adopt a national scheme.

Social Rented Housing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2012, Official Report, columns 618-9W, on social rented housing, if he will place in the Library a copy of all the advice he has received from departmental statisticians on the estimated number of social tenants with incomes over £60,000 a year; and what methodology was used to extrapolate the number of such tenants.

Grant Shapps: Estimates of the number of social tenants with a household income of over £60,000 a year were derived from two years of survey data from the English Housing Survey and one year of data from the Department for Work and Pensions Family Resources Survey. The sample covered more than 10,000 social rented households in total.
	Respondents to the surveys were asked questions about the incomes of each member of their household. From the answers the Department calculated the joint incomes of the household reference person (the highest earning tenant) and their partner, if there was one. The Department then counted how many times these joint incomes were found to exceed the threshold.
	These calculations were used to extrapolate figures across the social housing sector. To deal with the uncertainties of extrapolating from a relatively small sample, the Department calculated a confidence interval around the central estimate. This provided a range in which we can have greater confidence than an exact number, thus giving a reasonable indication of the number of social renters with high incomes.
	With regard to the request to place a copy in the Library of the House, of the advice that Ministers have received, it is not the normal practice to disclose departmental advice to Ministers, as to do so would inhibit the frankness and candour of such advice. That notwithstanding, the statistical analysis provided to Ministers used the methodology described above.

Social Rented Housing: South East

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to (a) increase the social housing stocks and (b) reduce social housing waiting lists in (i) Southampton, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) the south-east.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 10 July 2012
	We are investing £4.5 billion over the spending review period to deliver 170,000 affordable homes in England. This investment will lever in £15 billion of private sector investment, a total of £19.5 billion.
	Between April 2012 and April 2015, the Homes and Communities Agency currently expects to deliver new affordable homes as follows:
	(i) In Southampton £15 million is being invested through the Affordable Homes Programme to provide 400 new homes. These figures are subject to change as schemes are finalised.
	(ii) In Hampshire almost £35 million is being invested through the Affordable Homes Programme to provide 1,720 new homes. These figures are subject to change as schemes are finalised.
	(iii) In the Homes and Communities Agency's south and south-west area, where Southampton and Hampshire are included, almost £340 million is being invested to provide 9,320 new homes.
	The New Homes Bonus also rewards councils for helping provide more affordable housing; our empty homes programme will support vacant properties being brought back into use as affordable housing; and the Community Right to Build will help provide low-cost homes for local families and residents.
	Between 1997 and 2010 the number of households on housing waiting lists in England rose from l million to 1.8 million, with many people left languishing on waiting lists for years. In 2009-10, 420,000 households were under-occupying their social homes by two bedrooms or more, while 270,000 social homes were overcrowded. In 2009-10, 99% of general needs social lettings were provided on a lifetime basis.
	In addition, to delivering much needed new affordable homes, we are reforming the social housing system to remove the inflexibility and abuses which have contributed to high waiting lists. Local authorities are now able to decide who should qualify for social housing in their area; they are free to match the length of tenancy to the needs of the household; and they can meet the needs of homeless households with suitable private rented accommodation. By making full use of these new freedoms, local authorities will be able to target social housing on those who need and deserve it the most, for as long as they need it.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether HM ambassador to Burma has raised the oppression of the Rohingya ethnic groups from Burma in recent meetings with the Government of Burma.

Jeremy Browne: The UK continues to raise our concerns on issues affecting the Rohingya. On 12 June, following my statement on 10 June expressing our concern about the ongoing violence in Rakhine State, the British ambassador to Burma met the Burmese President Thein Sein, informed him of our concerns, and made clear that we stood ready to support the President's efforts to end the violence.
	On 19 June, the British high commissioner in Bangladesh accompanied the EU's Head of Delegation in delivering a démarche to the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry in Dhaka, which expressed our concern over the treatment of those fleeing the violence and called on the Bangladeshi Government to respect its international obligations.
	During the visit of Aung San Suu Kyi from 18-26 June to the United Kingdom, both the Prime Minister and I raised with her the issues affecting the Rohingya community.
	On 22 June, officials from the British embassy in Rangoon raised our concerns over the lack of humanitarian aid access to Rakhine State and the closure of the border with Bangladesh with the Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	The UK strongly supported a UN resolution at the Human Rights Council in March which called on the Government of Burma to recognise the right of members of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Rakhine State to nationality and to protect all of their human rights.
	We will continue to highlight the need for the Government of Burma to recognise the basic human rights of the Rohingya, with them directly, with our international partners and within international institutions, until the issue is resolved.

Burma

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the rape of ethnic Rohingya woman by police and security services following recent communal violence in Burma.

Jeremy Browne: We are deeply concerned about reports of rape having been committed by members of security forces in Rakhine (Arakan) State.
	We remain in regular contact with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the ground there. Simmering tensions between the different communities remain and this presents risks to local volunteers. This is not only hampering the provision of humanitarian assistance, but is also making verification of reports of rape problematic.
	In my statement of 10 June I called on all parties to act with restraint and urged the authorities and community leaders to open discussions to end the violence and to protect all members of the local population.
	The UK continues to raise awareness of the issues affecting the Rohingya. We strongly supported a UN resolution at the Human Rights Council in March which called on the Government of Burma to recognise the right of members of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Rakhine State to nationality, and to protect all of their human rights.
	We will continue to highlight the need for the Government of Burma to recognise the basic human rights of the Rohingya.

Indonesia

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss the importance of direct flights from London to Jakarta with the Secretary of State for Transport in advance of the visit to the UK of the President of Indonesia.

Jeremy Browne: The Government would welcome the commencement of direct air services between the UK and Indonesia, subject to updating the UK/Indonesia Air Services Agreement. The possibility of introducing and operating of such flights has been discussed at official level in advance of the state visit of the President of Indonesia later this year but would ultimately be a commercial decision for Indonesian and British airlines to take.

Middle East

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion in the middle east.

Alistair Burt: Protecting religious freedoms and preventing discrimination on grounds of religion or belief are priority human rights issues for the Government. The UK strongly supports the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and the right to freedom of opinion and expression as set out in key international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
	We regularly stress to countries in the middle east and north Africa region through our bilateral contacts that respect for human rights and dignity are universal rights which must underline all political systems, without exception. We continue to make clear that we deplore all discrimination against religious minorities. For example, following violence in Egypt on 9 October 2011, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), called the former Egyptian Foreign Minister on 12 October to discuss the action that the Egyptian Government were taking to address sectarian tension.
	We also fund projects to promote religious tolerance in the region. For example, in Iraq we have funded a grassroots religious reconciliation initiative involving a series of meetings to encourage dialogue between local religious leaders from across the sectarian divides. In Egypt, we have been supportive of interfaith dialogue and initiatives such as Beit El-Eila. We also use our close relationship with Al-Azhar University to promote inter-faith dialogue.

Mongolia

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Mongolian authorities on the freedom of the press and safety of journalists.

Jeremy Browne: The UK Government are a strong supporter of freedom of opinion and expression, including on the internet. Freedom of speech and of the press is protected by law in Mongolia, and although Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials regularly have raised the importance of prioritising human rights, in general terms, with the Mongolian Government, press freedom and safety of journalists has not been raised specifically.
	However, while we recognise that Mongolia has made significant strides towards meeting international human rights standards, no state should be complacent. We are aware of a recent report of an attack on eight journalists and camera operators from local television broadcaster Sky TV on 28 June, in northern Mongolia. According to media reports, this was in response to their coverage of the recent legislative elections. Our embassy in Ulaanbaatar is monitoring the case and we will continue to urge Mongolia to ensure that internationally recognised democratic norms are respected.

Nepal

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Nepalese authorities on the freedom of the press and safety of journalists.

Jeremy Browne: The UK frequently raises issues of human rights with the Nepalese authorities. We will discuss recent reports of intimidation and the deteriorating situation of human rights defenders and journalists during the eighth Session of the EU-Nepal Joint Commission next 19 July.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the legal position of goods produced in the west bank and Gaza by individuals or businesses unlawfully occupying those areas.

Alistair Burt: The issue of settlement produce is a subject of active discussion with our EU partners. EU Foreign Ministers, at their meeting on 14 May, agreed that:
	“the EU and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. The Council underlines the importance of the work being carried out together with the Commission in this regard.”
	This ongoing work includes measures to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free, under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and steps to ensure that EU-wide guidelines are issued to make sure that settlement products are not incorrectly labelled as Israeli produce.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have recently engaged in discussion with non-governmental organisations regarding the legality of settlement produce, however, there are currently no plans for EU or domestic legislation on this issue.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with other EU member states on settlement produce from the west bank and Gaza.

Alistair Burt: EU Foreign Ministers considered these issues at the 14 May EU Foreign Affairs Council. The Foreign Affairs Council's conclusions on the middle east peace process set out the EU's position on settlements, settlement produce, and the need to increase Palestinian Authority control of the west bank. These can be found at:
	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/130195.pdf
	On settlement produce EU Ministers agreed that:
	“The EU and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. The Council underlines the importance of the work being carried out together with the Commission in this regard.”
	This ongoing work includes measures to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free, under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and that settlement products are not incorrectly labelled as Israeli produce, in violation of EU consumer protection regulations.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Palestinian Authority on settlement produce.

Alistair Burt: We have a regular dialogue with the Palestinian Authority regarding our shared concern on Israeli settlements.
	The issue of settlement produce is a subject of active discussion with our EU partners. EU Foreign Ministers, at their meeting on 14 May, agreed that:
	“the EU and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. The Council underlines the importance of the work being carried out together with the Commission in this regard.”
	This ongoing work includes measures to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free, under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government on settlement produce.

Alistair Burt: We discuss the issue of settlements with the Israeli Government on a regular basis, most recently on 10 July.
	Our position on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: they are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve. We constantly urge the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement activity.
	The issue of settlement produce is a subject of active discussion with our EU partners. EU Foreign Ministers, at their meeting on 14 May, agreed that:
	“the EU and its Member States reaffirm their commitment to fully and effectively implement existing EU legislation and the bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. The Council underlines the importance of the work being carried out together with the Commission in this regard.”
	This ongoing work includes measures to ensure that settlement produce does not enter the EU duty-free, under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has significantly improved its financial management and has put in place rigorous procedures for tracking its spending throughout the year. This has allowed us to forecast spending more accurately. The FCO Management Board monitors the Department's budget on a monthly basis and reprioritises in-year resources in order to seek the best value for the taxpayer and to achieve the Government's foreign policy priorities.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn. As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publish the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the combined online information system database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Turkey

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish authorities on the arrest of journalist Müyesser Yildiz.

David Lidington: The Government have made representations to the Turkish authorities over the issue of detentions in Turkey. Our ambassador to Turkey, David Reddaway, raised the issue with senior officials from the Turkish Ministry of Justice earlier this year. More recently, Simon Fraser, our permanent under-secretary raised the issue of freedom of expression with his Turkish counterpart.
	We welcome Müyesser Yildiz's release from prison on 18 June. While we have not made representations on her individual case we urge the Turkish Government to pursue a comprehensive reform strategy that fulfils their international commitments on human rights and freedom of expression.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Party Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  how much Representative Money has been paid to political parties in the House in each year since 1982;
	(2)  what accounting mechanisms he has put in place to ensure that Representative Money is used solely for parliamentary purposes;
	(3)  whether he has made an assessment of the use of Representative Money since its publication.

George Young: Sinn Fein is the only party to receive Representative Money, which was introduced in 2005-06. Payments have been:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year Main budget Travel Total 
			 2005-06 35,163 0 35,163 
			 2006-07 86,245 0 86,245 
			 2007-08 90,036 0 90,036 
			 2008-09 93,639 0 93,639 
			 2009-10 94,482 0 94,482 
			 2010-11 95,195 0 95,195 
			 2011-12 101,004 0 101,004 
		
	
	Parties must provide the accounting officer of the House of Commons with an auditor's certificate each year confirming that “financial assistance has been claimed for expenses incurred by [the party] in carrying out its Representative Business”. This audit must be provided to the accounting officer no later than three months after the end of the financial year to which the audit relates. I will write to the right hon. Member with samples of the auditors' notes and audit certificate.
	I have made no assessment of the use of Representative Money since its publication.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on helicopter leasing in Afghanistan to date.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has spent approximately £41 million to date on the leasing of helicopters in Afghanistan. This excludes the cost of a six-week contract in 2007-08 for the delivery of mail during the Christmas period for which information is not held centrally.

C17 Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK's involvement is in the Globemaster Sustainment Partnership Programme; how many Boeing employees are stationed at RAF bases through the programme; how much of the maintenance of UK C-17 Globemaster aircraft takes place in the US; and what the cost of the programme has been to the public purse in each of the last three years.

Peter Luff: The UK participates in the Globemaster Sustainment Partnership Programme through a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the United States Government. This agreement utilises a United States Air Force contract with Boeing to provide cost effective and affordable logistic, maintenance and engineering services to the UK's fleet of eight C-17 aircraft. This agreement provides a total of 18 Boeing employees, who are based at RAF Brize Norton. Depot maintenance is undertaken by Boeing in the USA, with all remaining maintenance being conducted by 99 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton. Support costs for the last three years, including spares but excluding acquisition and RAF running costs, were as follows:
	
		
			 Support costs 
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 37 
			 2010-11 40 
			 2011-12 44

Defence Industry

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what one-to-one meetings each Minister in his Department has held with companies from the defence sector in the last 12 months.

Peter Luff: Ministers meet with a range of defence contractors, to discuss a wide range of issues. Details of all ministerial meetings with external organisations, including companies from the defence sector, are published in the Ministry of Defence's quarterly transparency returns as required by the Government's Transparency Agenda. The following website address provides the latest published returns:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses/MinistersHospitalityReceived.htm
	Meetings during the period January 2012 to March 2012 will be published in due course.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the RAF expects to take delivery of (a) Lot 7, (b) Lot 8 and (c) Lot 9 Low Rate JSF 35B aircraft; how many aircraft will be delivered in each Lot; and what the unit cost is of each aircraft.

Peter Luff: Aircraft ordered within Lot 7 are scheduled to be delivered in financial year (FY) 2015-16, Lot 8 are scheduled to be delivered in FY 2016-17, and Lot 9 in FY 2017-18. The number of aircraft to be ordered within these lots is still to be formally approved. The cost of each Joint Strike Fighter will be determined at the next Main Gate decision currently planned for 2013.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will undertake a review of the use of drone missiles.

Nick Harvey: Reaper is the only armed remotely piloted aircraft system used by the UK. It currently plays a vital role in military operations in Afghanistan where it is an important means of giving our ground forces the vital information they need to stay one step ahead of the enemy. It has proved to offer great military benefit and its presence has undoubtedly saved the lives of many UK and coalition forces.
	The UK complies fully with its obligations under international law including that set out in Article 36 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva conventions, to review all new weapons and means and methods of warfare (a process that applies equally to unmanned capabilities and other manned weapon systems). The UK Reaper system can only release its weapons when commanded to do so by the fully trained and qualified flight crew operating it from the ground.
	In Afghanistan, the policy governing the use of Reaper is identical to that for conventionally piloted combat aircraft. UK forces in Afghanistan come under the command of the NATO International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) and operate in accordance with international humanitarian law (also known as the law of armed conflict) and UK rules of engagement. Military lawyers based in Afghanistan advise on all aspects of operations including the selection and prosecution of all ISAF targets, which is the subject of a rigorous process that is compliant with international humanitarian law. Every effort is made to minimise the risk of collateral damage, particularly civilian casualties, which includes in some circumstances deciding not to engage the target.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of restrictions on the use of UK airspace on the unmanned air vehicles development programme.

Peter Luff: holding answer 10 July 2012
	All UK military unmanned aircraft (UA) flying in UK airspace do so in accordance with the Military Aviation Authority regulations. UA are currently only permitted to fly in segregated airspace, ensuring that they can be operated safely and without risk to other aircraft. There is no current requirement for military UA to operate in the UK in non-segregated airspace. These restrictions therefore have no impact on the unmanned aircraft systems development programme.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department for Transport on the regulations surrounding the use of unmanned air vehicles in UK airspace.

Nick Harvey: On 11 May 2012, Ministry of Defence and Department for Transport officials had discussions which included the regulations surrounding the use of unmanned aircraft in UK airspace. Further discussions, which will include this topic, are planned for later this month.

TREASURY

Banks: Fraud

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the (a) operation and (b) effectiveness of regulations governing banks' procedures for handling cases where fraud is suspected to have been committed on a customer's account.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to improving access to banking and the transparency of financial products for consumers. However, it is important to balance a bank's need to protect itself and its customers from fraud against the rights of the consumer.
	It is also important that individuals continue to have recourse to adequate complaint mechanisms so that any errors can be quickly identified and rectified; and that banks continue to use good judgment and abide by best practice guidelines when using information sharing systems.
	As is the case with all regulations, the Government will keep them under review.

Billing

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has assessed the merits of US policy on e-invoicing to implement an internet payment platform by the end of 2012 and oblige commercial vendors to submit invoices only by electronic means by the end of 2013.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	I understand that the US Department of Treasury does not oblige commercial vendors to submit invoices by electronic means, and I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 July 2012, Official Report, column 730W.

Business

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to promoting mutuality and fostering diversity in financial services. The Government are undertaking a number of steps to modernise and expand the mutuals sector.
	The Legislative Reform Order for Industrial and Provident Societies and Credit Unions came into force on 8 January, which has increased the capacity of credit unions to lend to their members, admit corporate bodies, and offer interest on deposits. In January this year the Government also announced a Consolidation Bill for Co-operatives, which will simplify the legislation, making it easier for a co-operative to be set up. The Government have recently announced their support for the Credit Union Modernisation Project being run by DWP, which will enable credit unions to strengthen and grow, helping them to serve a wider range of people. In addition, an internal review is being conducted to examine the role of employee ownership in supporting growth and to examine options to remove barriers, including tax barriers, to its wider take-up. The review will also consider the findings of the Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership, and will conclude ahead of autumn statement 2012.

CIFAS: Databases

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with CIFAS on the operation of the CIFAS National Fraud Database.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Commodity Markets

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the use of position limits for the commodity derivative markets; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government support the use of adjustable, temporary position limits, or delivery limits under a position management framework to address the specific circumstances of a particular market at a particular time. However, the Government believe that fixed, long -term position limits in isolation are an ineffective regulatory tool. The Government are also sceptical that such inflexible measures would be effective in reducing the presence of a particular participant type in the market, or would be an effective tool to address price volatility.
	The House of Lords EU Committee published a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II report which is in line with Government views on the regulation of commodity derivatives markets.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that the delay to the increase in fuel duty will be fiscally neutral.

Chloe Smith: As announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the one-off cost of the delay of around £550 million will be paid for from within existing spending plans. More details will be announced at the autumn statement.

Income Tax: Blackpool

Paul Maynard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency pay income tax at (a) 20, (b) 40 and (c) 50%.

David Gauke: A breakdown of taxpayers in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in 2009-10 is provided in the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/table-3-15-mar2012.xls
	Reliable estimates for later years based on the projected survey of personal incomes data, are not available due to greater uncertainties in projections for small geographical areas.
	Estimates of additional rate taxpayer numbers in 2010-11 from Self Assessment data are not published for local areas.

LIBOR

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when the Financial Secretary to the Treasury was made aware of the Financial Services Authority's investigation into LIBOR manipulation;
	(2)  when officials in his Department were made aware of the Financial Services Authority's investigation into LIBOR manipulation;
	(3)  when the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury was made aware that the Financial Services Authority was conducting an investigation into bank manipulation of LIBOR;
	(4)  on what date the Financial Secretary to the Treasury informed him of the investigation into LIBOR manipulation;
	(5)  on what date he was informed by the Financial Services Authority that an investigation into LIBOR manipulation was underway;
	(6)  whether consideration was given to the regulation of LIBOR during the drafting of the Financial Services Bill;
	(7)  what discussions HM Treasury has had with the European Commission on bank manipulation of the LIBOR survey;
	(8)  what representations HM Treasury received on bank manipulation of LIBOR (a) before and (b) after the commencement of US investigations by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission;
	(9)  if he will publish the advice given to Ministers in his Department before the 6 March 2012 meeting of the Financial Services Bill Committee on the manipulation of LIBOR by banks;
	(10)  what discussions the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority had on an investigation into LIBOR manipulation before 6 March 2012.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 6 July 2012
	The FSA's own report of the Barclays investigation makes clear that it began investigating issues relating to LIBOR in 2009.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of authorities as part of the process of policy development and delivery, including in relation to the drafting of the Financial Services Bill. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of ail such meetings and discussions. Furthermore, the Government would not say or do anything that might prejudge or pre-empt the outcome of investigations into the attempted manipulation of LIBOR and other benchmarks.
	The Government have published numerous documents on their new approach to financial regulation—in July 2010 (Cm 7874), February 2011 (Cm 8012), June 2011 (Cm 8083) and January 2012 (Cm 8268)—in which they have both consulted on, and published details of, issues they have considered in preparing the Financial Services Bill.
	Parliament has agreed that a parliamentary inquiry will be established to examine professional standards in the banking industry. The committee is expected to report by the end of the year in order that its recommendations can be implemented in the Banking Bill, work on which begins next year.
	The Chancellor has also committed to an independent review of the regulation of LIBOR, to be headed by Martin Wheatley. This will report to the Cabinet Committee on Banking Reform, chaired by the Chancellor, with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), as vice-chair, by the end of the summer.

Minimum Wage: Shipping

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times officers from HM Revenue and Customs' National Minimum Wage Compliance Unit and its predecessor departments investigated claims of non-payment of the national minimum wage against employers in the maritime sector in each year since 1999-2000; and if he will place in the Library copies of each such investigation.

David Gauke: HMRC does not categorise employers as being in the maritime sector and so cannot supply this information. If HMRC was able to provide the numbers of such investigations, it is bound by a duty of confidentiality to taxpayers and so would not be able to provide Library copies of its investigations.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff of his Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Chloe Smith: HM Treasury manages its own deployment pool which facilitates the movement of staff across the Department. As at 30 June 2012, at HM Treasury there were 25 employees in the deployment pool, one of whom had been in the pool for more than six months.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animals: Exports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of pet animals exported from the UK for sale overseas.

James Paice: We record the number of certificates issued to authorise the commercial movement of cats and dogs only. These certificates may have included multiple animals and exporters are not required to specify whether these animals are to be sold as pets.
	
		
			  Number of export certificates issued 
			 2008 8,161 
			 2009 7,764 
			 2010 7,599 
			 2011 8,366 
			 2012 (1 January 2012 to 22 June 2012) 2,784

Environment Protection

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will made available funding for further environmental projects similar to the Eden Project.

James Paice: DEFRA has no plans to fund these types of projects.

Forestry

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the report of the Independent Panel on Forestry, what plans she has to increase the area of accessible woodland in England.

James Paice: The Independent Panel on Forestry was asked to consider options for enhancing public benefits from all woodland and forests, in the light of the Lawton Report and the Natural Environment White Paper, including public access for recreation and leisure. This report was published on 4 July, along with the statement of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), 4 July 2012, Official Report, columns 55-56WS.
	We will now need time to properly consider the panel's report in detail and will respond more fully by January 2013.

Forests: Conservation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to safeguard the public forest estate including protection and restoration of ancient woodland in her Department's response to the report of the Independent Panel on Forestry.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), confirmed in her statement of 4 July 2012, Official Report, columns 55-56WS, that the Public Forest will continue to benefit from public ownership. A well managed and publicly owned estate provides the sort of public benefits we need to protect, such as access and biodiversity. The Natural Environment White Paper stated a renewed commitment to restoring and conserving ancient woodlands.
	The Government will now need time to properly consider the work of the panel; we will respond more fully by January 2013.

Horses: Transport

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what limits there are on journey times for horses travelling to the continent for slaughter.

James Paice: The EU welfare in transport legislation (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, as implemented in England by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006, requires that domestic equidae be transported for a maximum period of 24 hours. During the journey, they must be given liquid and fed every eight hours.
	A recent review of scientific evidence by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) suggested that a maximum journey time of 12 hours for horses going to slaughter would be more appropriate. We will continue to press the EU Commission to make this important change to the legislation at the earliest possible opportunity.

Horses: Transport

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the rules for the conditions of travelling horses on their way to the continent for slaughter.

James Paice: There has been no recent assessment made of the rules for the conditions of travelling horses on their way to the continent for slaughter. These rules are laid down in EU Council Regulation 1/2005, as implemented in England by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006. We cannot act unilaterally in a situation where there are directly applicable EU rules already in existence.
	The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) undertakes risk based inspections at ports such as Dover and will investigate any claims that horses are being transported contrary to the above rules or in conditions which might compromise the welfare of the animals.

Forestry

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to respond in full to the report of the Independent Panel on Forestry.

James Paice: Following the Independent Panel on Forestry publishing its final report on 4 July the Government will now need time to properly consider the work of the panel; we will respond more fully by January 2013.

Wildlife: Circuses

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research her Department has commissioned on the use of wild animals in circuses; whether she plans to commission further such research; and what budget she has set for such research.

James Paice: DEFRA accepted the findings of the Radford report in 2007, which concluded that there is little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments. DEFRA does not plan to commission further research.

TRANSPORT

Fuels

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the terms of reference are for her Department's work on the resilience of the UK's petrol and diesel supplies; when this work will be completed; and whether it will be made public.

Michael Penning: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is the lead Government Department with responsibility for overseeing the resilience of the fuel sector.
	I therefore refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) on 11 July 2012, Official Report, columns 276-77W.

Liverpool Cruise Terminal

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times Lord Heseltine and her Department have corresponded on the issue of the City of Liverpool cruise terminal since 13 May 2010.

Michael Penning: The Department has had no such correspondence with Lord Heseltine.

Liverpool Cruise Terminal

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will publish a non-confidential version of her Department's Liverpool City Council State Aid clearance notification in relation to the City of Liverpool cruise terminal.

Michael Penning: No. Correspondence with the commission on open state aid cases is confidential.

Liverpool Cruise Terminal

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department took legal advice as part of each consultation related to the City of Liverpool cruise terminal.

Michael Penning: The Department had legal advice on this matter before and after the launch of the consultation in 2011.

Transport: Infrastructure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which (a) road and (b) rail infrastructure projects announced since May 2010 have not received full business case assessments.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport and its agencies adopted the five case business model, in keeping with Treasury's Green Book, in 2011. This model will be used for all significant transport investment and divestments. Further information on when and how the new model is applied can be found on the DfT website at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/publications/transport-business-case/
	The Department does not hold current and completed Transport business cases centrally, so the information requested cannot be determined without incurring disproportionate cost. As outlined above the expectation is that the five case model will be used for significant rail and road investments and divestments.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he was informed that the European Investment Bank's involvement in Emerging Capital Partner's Africa Fund II was being investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Alan Duncan: European Investment Bank (EIB) officials informed UK and other member state officials on April 18, 2012 that, in line with the bank's policy, its independent Inspector General had conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations of corruption in connection with the Emerging Capital Partner's Africa II fund, and had referred the matter to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
	The EIB has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism in connection with projects it finances. Investigations of such allegations are an internal matter for the bank and shareholders are not regularly informed of ongoing investigations. OLAF is a strong anti-fraud agency with a good track record for investigating such cases thoroughly.

Africa

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the board of the European Investment Bank (EIB) was informed that EIB's involvement in Emerging Capital Partner's Africa Fund II was being investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Alan Duncan: European Investment Bank (EIB) officials informed UK and other member state officials on April 18, 2012 that, in line with the bank's policy, its independent Inspector General had conducted a preliminary investigation into allegations of corruption in connection with the Emerging Capital Partner's Africa II fund, and had referred the matter to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
	The EIB has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorism in connection with projects it finances. Investigations of such allegations are an internal matter for the bank and shareholders are not regularly informed of on-going investigations. OLAF is a strong-anti fraud agency with a good track record for investigating such cases thoroughly.

Bangladesh

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has met representatives of GCM Resources to discuss the developmental effects of its proposed open-pit coal mine in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: DFID Ministers have not met representatives of GCM Resources to discuss the proposed open-pit coal mine in Bangladesh.

Burma

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is delivering to Rohingya refugees from Burma who live in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: DFID provides core contributions to the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) and United Nations agencies, who are active in Bangladesh in this area.

Burma

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is delivering to people who have been displaced by communal violence in Rakhine state in Burma.

Alan Duncan: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Children's Fund have provided water containers and constructed latrines in 37 camps and provided other essential items to several camps. The World Food Programme has reported distributing 887 metric tonnes of food to around 103,000 people. DFID provides core funding to each of these organisations.

Burma

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings representatives of his Department have had with leaders of the National League for Democracy in Burma in 2012 to date.

Alan Duncan: To date, DFID officials have had three meetings with leaders of the National League for Democracy in Burma in 2012.
	In addition, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), met Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma in November 2011, and during her visit to the United Kingdom in June this year.

Burma

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his budget for aid to Burma is in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Alan Duncan: DFID's current allocation for development work in Burma between 2011-15 is £187 million. These funds will deliver transformative change to benefit the people of Burma: helping children complete primary school, supporting responsible investment and economic growth, fighting malaria, improving livelihoods in rural areas, and assisting people affected by conflict and the process of ethnic reconciliation. A revised profile of DFID's spending over 2013-14, 2013-14 and 2014-15 will be published later this summer.

Burma

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding he is providing to the Shan Women's Action Network in Burma.

Alan Duncan: DFID has allocated £400,000 for the Shan Women's Action Network between 2009 and 2012 to deliver assistance in the areas of education, health, capacity building and women's empowerment for Shan communities affected by conflict, displacement and violence in Burma.

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when his Department referred the allegations that CDC had invested in companies reported to have been money laundering fronts for James Ibori to the London Metropolitan Police.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's Counter Fraud Unit met the London Metropolitan Police on 15 May 2009 to discuss the allegations.

Commonwealth Development Corporation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken in respect of allegations that Emerging Capital Partners defrauded CDC and other investors.

Andrew Mitchell: In February 2009, under the last Government DFID and CDC received allegations that certain CDC fund managers had invested the capital of CDC and other investors in a number of Nigerian companies that have been linked to Politically Exposed Persons and which may have been engaged in corrupt practices. CDC has investigated these allegations and has found no evidence to substantiate the allegations. DFID and CDC stand ready to look again into these matters should they receive new evidence.

Dotun Oloko

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has offered legal assistance to Mr Dotun Oloko.

Andrew Mitchell: DFID has not offered any legal assistance to Mr Oloko under article 46 of the UN convention against corruption as article 46 places an obligation of mutual legal assistance on state parties, not on individuals.

Overseas Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the UK Aid logo featuring in addition to the EU Aid logo where UK direct aid has been provided.

Alan Duncan: We use the UK aid logo wherever possible to highlight our work, as long as it does not compromise security. Where we co-fund projects with the European Union, our policy is to use the UK aid logo.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Alan Duncan: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their economic and fiscal outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the transparency agenda the Government publish the full detail of plans and out-turn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish out-turn data for all Departments from the Combined Online Information System (COINS) database, available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 out-turn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria his Department uses to determine the number of apprenticeship places created in any given time period.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency, which administers the apprenticeship programme, records all Government funded training on the Individualised Learner Record, including information about apprenticeships.
	To be recorded as an apprenticeship the programme of learning must comply with the statutory standards including the requirement for the apprentice to be employed.
	The headline figure on apprenticeship places is the number of people starting an apprenticeship (‘starts'). Provisional figures on starts are released quarterly, and final figures for each academic year are released annually.

Apprentices

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how he defines an apprenticeship.

John Hayes: The definition of an apprenticeship was agreed during the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 and can be found in Section 1. Meaning of “completing an English apprenticeship”.
	The standard English completion conditions are:
	(a) that the person has entered into an apprenticeship agreement in connection with the apprenticeship framework,
	(b) that at the date of that agreement the framework was a recognised English framework,
	(c) that the person has completed a course of training for the competencies qualification identified in the framework,
	(d) that, throughout the duration of the course, the person was working under the apprenticeship agreement, and
	(e) that the person meets the requirements specified in the framework for the purpose of the issue of an apprenticeship certificate.

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers have received payments to take on their first young apprentice under the incentive scheme since its inception on 7 February 2012; and how many such apprentices have started.

John Hayes: The number of apprenticeship starts for which a payment was made through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) scheme will be published in the next Statistical First Release in October. To date, only those starting in February can be identified because there is a time-lag in take-up being counted and initial payments are not drawn down until the new apprentice has been in post for eight weeks. More detail will be published in October when a more meaningful figure will be available.

Defence Export Licences

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of UK companies eligible to apply for (a) general and (b) global licences under the EU's Defence Transfer Directive 2009/43/EC.

Mark Prisk: All UK companies are eligible to use UK Open General Export Licences and Open Individual Export Licences for the export of defence goods, subject to their possessing a satisfactory track record of compliance and being able to satisfy all the conditions attached to these licences. These open licences equate to the general and global licences referred to in EU Directive 2009/43/EC, and the implementation of the directive will not change that situation.

Assets

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assets his Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not sold and leased back any assets over the last 12 months.

Business

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many business mentors are available through the mentorsme.co.uk portal.

Mark Prisk: Mentorsme currently provides access to over 100 mentoring organisations and, through them, around 11,000 business mentors. This includes over 1,000 volunteer business mentors recruited and trained by the British Bankers Association. Alongside the bank mentors, new schemes to recruit volunteer business mentors have also been launched by Hewlett Packard and Mott MacDonald, who are joining the likes of Virgin Media and A.F. Blakemore & Son, in collaboration with the Enterprise and Diversity Alliance (EDA), who already run established volunteer mentoring programmes.
	Our work to increase the number of volunteer business mentors is proving successful. Over 12,000 people have now signed up to the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative's (SFEDI) Get Mentoring scheme, which has pledged to recruit and train 15,000 business mentors. So far over 7,000 people have been trained. Once trained, volunteers can activate their free membership of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE), giving them access to the IOEE's mentoring service and making them accessible via the portal. They are also encouraged and to become part of other mentoring organisations on mentorsme and start mentoring through their own networks.

Business: Postal Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he received from organisations representing small businesses on the cost of postage.

Norman Lamb: I have had no recent representations from organisations representing small businesses on the cost of postage.
	Proposals for regulating stamp prices from April 2012 were included in a public consultation (“Securing the Universal Service”) which was carried out by Ofcom, the independent regulator with responsibility for postal services. More information about the consultation and stakeholder responses, which included, among others, the Federation of Small Businesses, can be found on the regulator's website:
	www.ofcom.org.uk

Business: Postal Services

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses of the recent increase in postal charges.

Norman Lamb: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament gave Ofcom, as an independent regulator, the primary duty of securing the universal postal service. It is therefore the regulator's responsibility to monitor and assess the effect of postal price increases on postal users, including small businesses.
	Proposals for regulating stamp prices from April 2012 were included in a public consultation (“Securing the Universal Service”) which was carried out by Ofcom. Given the importance of ensuring that universal services remain affordable over time, Ofcom will closely monitor the effect of future prices on consumers, which they acknowledged includes small businesses. More information about the assessment of affordability can be found in its decision paper “Securing the Universal Service—Decision on the new regulatory framework” which can be accessed on its website:
	www.ofcom.org.uk

Business: Regulation

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in how many regulations introduced since May 2010 micro-businesses have been granted a waiver; and what the title of each such regulation was.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 11 July 2012
	There have been 65 measures that have been granted a waiver from the moratorium since its introduction in April 2011. This covers all regulations that have been announced by Government in the first three Statements of New Regulation.
	1. Competition Act 1998 (Land Agreement Exclusion Revocation)
	2. Revision of the Scheme for Construction Contracts
	3. Apprenticeship measures (minimum 12 month duration for all apprenticeships)
	4. Apprenticeship Agreements (confirming the employment status of all apprentices)
	5. Removal of Insolvency Service Account facility in Voluntary Liquidations
	6. Change to Debt Relief Order (DRO) eligibility criteria
	7. Weights and Measures (Unwrapped Bread and Intoxicating Liquor)
	8. Default Retirement Age (phasing out the default retirement age of 65)
	9. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment)
	10. The Localism Bill: Assets of Community Value
	11. Social Housing Regulator (directions to the Homes and Communities Agency)
	12. PEGI Classification System (for video games)
	13. Carbon Emissions Reductions Target extension April 2011—December 2012
	14. Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Regulations 2011
	15. Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme (Amendment) Order
	16. Gas transporter licence exemption
	17. The Licensable Means of Fishing Order 2010
	18. Amendment of The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Measures) and Marine Licensing
	19. Flood risk management and overview and scrutiny Committee (England) Regulation
	20. Move to electronic system for reporting pig movements
	21. Consolidation of National List Regulations
	22. The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy
	23. Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management—Funding
	24. Regional Flood and Coastal Committees—Establishment and Membership
	25. Electronic notices of variation to licences for all fishing vessels in England
	26. Enforcement of the Marine Licensing System
	27. The Education (Provision of Information by Independent Schools) (England) Regulations
	28. Mandatory Travel Concession
	29. The Equality Act 2010 (Application of Part 5 to Seafarers)
	30. M25 Motorway Junctions 2 to 3 (Variable Speed Limits) Regulations 2010
	31. The Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
	32. Revocations of the explosive provision in Classification and Labelling of Explosive Regulations 1983
	33. The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Middleton Railway Drewry Car) and (Cairngorm Funicular Railway) Exemptions (Amendment) Order 2011
	34. Traffic Orders: Simplifying Procedures
	35. ATOL reform (Secondary Legislation)
	36. Air Navigation Order
	37. Administrative Reform of the National Bus Concession in England
	38. Public transport ticketing scheme block exemption
	39. The Airport Byelaws (Designation) Order 2011—Designation of Shoreham
	40. The Aerodromes (Designation) (Detention and Sale of Aircraft) (England and Wales) Order 2011
	41. The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
	42. Air Navigation (Amendment) Order 2012
	43.Primary Medical Services (Electronic Prescription Service Authorisation) Directions
	44. The Health Service Branded Medicines (Control of Prices and Supply of Information)
	45. Removing the three year rule restriction on pharmacists
	46. Regulation of Sunbeds
	47. The Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) Regulations 2010
	48. Occupational Pension Schemes: Employer Debt—Easements to Regulations
	49. Abolition of Contracting-out for Defined Contribution Pension Schemes
	50. Private Pensions Uprating
	51. Positive Action—Recruitment and Promotion
	52. Mutual Societies (Electronic Communications) Order
	53. The FSMA 2000 (Carrying on Regulated Activities by Way of Business) (Amendment)
	54. FSA regulation for registered housing associations in Northern Ireland
	55. Legislative Reform (Industrial and Provident Societies and Credit Unions) Order 2011
	56. Northern Ireland Credit Unions
	57. Tax Transparent Funds
	58. Payment Services Regulations 2012
	59. The FSMA 2000 (Exemption) (Amendment) Order
	60. Firearms (Electronic Communications) Order 2010
	61. The Rebalancing of Alcohol Licensing
	62. Late Night Levy and Early Morning Restriction Orders
	63. Ban on the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty plus VAT
	64. Amending RIDDOR Regulation
	65. Trusts (Capital and Income) Bill

Economic Growth: South East

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the rate of economic growth in (a) the South East, (b) West Sussex and (c) Mid Sussex.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 10 July 2012
	The most suitable data to assess sub-national economic growth are the Regional Gross Value Added (GVA) data produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
	The latest comparable data available are for 2009 which show that total GVA in the South East stood at £179,317 million, a decrease of 2.0% on the previous year. The total GVA for West Sussex was £15,237 million in 2009, which was a 2.5% decrease on the previous year.
	Between 1997 and 2009, the total GVA for West Sussex increased at an annual rate nominal rate of 3.9%. This compares to average annual change in the South East over the same period of 4.7%.
	It is not possible to provide equivalent data at the Mid-Sussex level.

Executives: Pay

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2012, Official Report, columns 383-84W, on executives: pay, by what date he expects the requirement for companies to respond formally when a significant number of shareholders vote against a pay resolution to be enshrined in the Corporate Governance Code.

Norman Lamb: The Financial Reporting Council has announced that it will consult on whether to amend the UK Corporate Governance Code to address a number of issues relating to directors' remuneration, including whether companies should report to the market in the event that they fail to obtain at least a substantial majority in support of a resolution on remuneration. This consultation will be carried out after the Government's legislation on voting and reporting on directors' remuneration has been finalised.

Executives: Pay

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 2 July 2012, Official Report, column 500W, on executives: pay, from what date he expects revised reporting regulations to apply.

Norman Lamb: Quoted companies will have to start reporting on remuneration in the new format and offering shareholders binding votes on remuneration policy at annual general meetings held in financial years beginning after October 2013. For most companies this will mean annual general meetings held in the spring/summer of 2014.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: There are no Government Procurement Cards (GPC) in the Department issued to paid off-payroll officials. GPCs are only issued to departmental staff members (including UK Trade and Investment staff) who hold a financial delegated authority which permits them to make and incur financial commitments on behalf of the Department;
	The number of part-time employees and non-permanent BIS staff (e.g. Fixed term appointments, staff of secondment from other Government Departments, etc.) who hold a GPC is not recorded and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	In total BIS (including UK Trade and Investment) currently has 283 cardholders and since 2009 there has been an overall reduction in the number of GPCs held by BIS staff and the number of cards cancelled is as follows:
	2009—89 cancelled
	2010—122 cancelled
	2011—115 cancelled
	2012—15 cancelled

Green Growth

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote green growth as a response to climate change.

Mark Prisk: We are committed to taking action now to put the whole economy on a low-carbon, resource efficient path. In doing so we need to maintain UK competitiveness and lay the foundations for strong and sustainable growth in the future.
	Last year the Government published “Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy” which will help inform the continuing dialogue between government, business and communities. It sets out the range of policies we are using to support the transition to a green economy, the opportunities that are created and the implications for the way in which businesses operate.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a number of programmes that are relevant to the development of the UK's green economy. Among them is the £125 million Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain fund, which aims to increase growth potential in manufacturing by improving the competitiveness of supply chains. It is open to businesses in the renewable energy and other low-carbon sectors. There is also support available through the regional growth fund, from which several companies involved in renewable energy have benefited. The Department is also supporting innovation through the Technology Strategy Board's catapult centres, including the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. This will bring forward new innovation and help drive down costs in offshore renewable energy technologies. The Manufacturing Advisory Service includes within its remit low carbon and supply chain diversification themes.
	The Government recognise that development of appropriate skills is an important part of the green economy. A report “Skills for a Green Economy” was published in October 2011, and maps out possible skills needs and gaps across different green sectors. The Government have put learners and employers in the driving seat, giving them the support, funding and information to make the right choices and to help employers shape the skills system. Taken together, we are creating a strong and flexible platform to meet the skills needs for the green economy transition.
	The UK Green Investment Bank (UK GIB) is being developed as a key component of the Government's transition to a green and growing economy. The Bank's mission is “to provide financial solutions to accelerate private sector investment in the UK's transition to a green economy”. Funded with £3 billion, it will tackle finance gaps which still remain despite a range of strong policies to incentivise green investments. It will work towards a “double bottom line” of both achieving environmental policies and making positive financial returns.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what deadline his Department has set for finalising the delivery partners for its start-up loans scheme's pilot phase.

Mark Prisk: Due diligence is currently being undertaken on those potential delivery partners identified from the expressions of interest received by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in May. I am committed to ensuring young entrepreneurs receive excellent service, including access to approved high-quality mentors who can genuinely help them turn their ideas into a business and accessible finance on appropriate terms. This requires appropriate due diligence to ensure that our delivery partners are able to deliver the quality of service required.
	The Prince's Trust and Business Finance Solutions (serving Greater Manchester) have already been announced as delivery partners for start up loans. Other organisations identified from their expressions of interest as likely to be suitable are currently undergoing due diligence with the expectation that they will receive formal offers by the end of August and begin lending by the end of September.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend.

Norman Lamb: The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast underspends in Departmental Expenditure Limits as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook in the autumn.
	As part of the transparency agenda the Government publish the full detail of plans and outturn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish outturn data for all Departments from the Combined Online Information System database, available on the Treasury website, on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 outturn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.

Public Sector Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff of his Department were in the civil service redeployment pool on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many of these had been in the redeployment pool for more than six months at that date.

Norman Lamb: At the end of June 2012, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills had fewer than five people seeking redeployment and none of those had been awaiting redeployment for more than six months at that date.